


what's up bitches

by MrGoingAstray



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Abandonment, Adulting is hard, Alternate Universe, Angst, Bruce Wayne is Batman, Child, Child Abandonment, Cussing, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Feelings, Help, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, I try, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Lots of Abuse, M/M, OOC, Pain, Past Joker/Harleen Quinzel, Sass, Sass everywhere, Slow Burn, Trust Issues, a few of the characters, are a bit, art on random pages, bare with me, blood loss equals soft boys, character exploration, crazy large boy, crazy smol boy, crushes? - Freeform, fluff moments, get ready to feel shit, i guess, i think everyone needs a hug, it's a rough ride, like no joke this is a LONG ride, love and hate, nigma, not a lego batman spin off, what will happen!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-18
Updated: 2018-06-02
Packaged: 2018-09-18 11:27:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 33,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9382997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrGoingAstray/pseuds/MrGoingAstray
Summary: “We have mentioned to you that your DNA is quite an interesting mix of test subjects, have we not?” The voice asked.“You’ve said, and I quote, ‘You’re the spawn of hell incarnate! You shouldn’t be alive with what shady DNA we’ve collected to create you. You fucking piece of shit!’” Lux said dramatically. “So, yeah, I think I got the message, thank you very much.”or the one where someone got ahold of some dna that wasn't theirs and made something that may or may not be something else entirely





	1. Fathers where art thou?

**Author's Note:**

> Here's my OC Lux and I love him!

 

Chapter 1: Fathers where art thou?

 

The table was cold against his skin, causing goosebumps to spread across his body in little hills as Lux tried to settle his butt in a comfortable position.

“Another test today, I presume?” Lux asked the empty office with a flourish of his hands.

He was used to being watched, knowing that his question was being noted by the men behind the glass. Sometimes they’d throw someone in there with him, but the last time that happened he ended up with a mouthful of lovely blood from the neck of the now dead lab assistant. It’s not like he did in on _purpose_ , Lux huffed. If the following nights of insomnia and night terrors where anything to go by. They say he does it for attention, which is sort of _true_ , but he has an anger problem, one that he is learning to control, and one that he’s trying to hide from the men behind the mirror. It was easier to go along with what they assumed sometimes, and he didn’t want to think about what would happen once they found out he had a short _temper_.

“ _Today we’d like to run your blood again_ ,” Lux rolled his eyes at the glass panel as the voice echoes in the room. “ _And we’d like to show you something_.”

The voice was hesitant, catching Lux’s attention. Usually they liked to hide things from him. Sighing Lux rolled up the sleeve to his button up and turned to the table beside him. It was a lovely array of needles and tubes. Without further instructions Lux began to draw his own blood, humming lightly as each tube was filled to the brim.

“ _We have mentioned to you that your DNA is quite an interesting mix of test subjects, have we not?_ ” The voice asked.

“You’ve said, and I quote, _‘You’re the spawn of hell incarnate! You shouldn’t be alive with what shady DNA we’ve collected to create you. You fucking piece of shit!_ ’” Lux said dramatically. “So, yeah, I think I got the message, thank you very much.”

“ _So you understand that there is a reason why we have yet to tell you who your parents are?_ ”

Lux finished the last of the blood samples, placing them in order of how they were drawn, vertically, with no straying blood stains. Once he was sure it looked decent and organized Lux turned to face the glass wall once again, amusement lingering in his eyes. As far as these men knew, Lux was a sheltered child with no real connection to the outside world.

They kept him away from computers once they realized he learned to hack into them. Though Lux never got to figure out who his actual parents were, since he was a beginner at hacking and didn’t know how to get over some of the harder firewalls, he was disappointed to find out he was born in this god-awful lab. _What a boring story_ , Lux thought as he straightened his sleeves.

“I get why none of ya’ll wanted me to know, I guess? It’s not like I would know who you are talking about.” Lux lied.

A few days before they realized he was the one hacking their system Lux research the city outside the lab. To Lux’s amusement Gotham was indeed an _interesting_ place. With men who dressed up as clowns, to a man who was a little too obsessed with bats, Lux was glad that the city wasn’t as boring as the lab he currently sat in. Something about living in the belly of the beast tickled Lux’s eight year old mind.

“ _Me and my associates have decided it would be in your best interest if we gave you some files about your…parents. It seems we’ve underestimated your thirst for knowledge and the computer incident was a necessary price we have paid in order to gain such information, as you have yet to tell us anything outside the lab results._ ”

“Awh don’t be mad Mr. Mirror. I don’t usually kiss and tell on first dates!” Lux laughed, hopping off the metal table. “And I don’t really like any of you, so, there’s that.”

“ _We have been nothing but civil to you, Lux, no need to distrust us_.”

 _What a terrible **liar**_ , Lux glared. Just last week he was ‘disciplined’ rather harshly when he tried to hide from his guard. He really didn’t feel like doing any more tests that week and would rather be left alone to plan his escape, thank you very much. Lux learned from a young age not to trust the people around him. The last time he did they gave him something to love, took it away, and killed it just to see what sort of ‘reaction’ he would have. Stomping down his anger Lux sighed, pretending to agree with the voice.

“I just want to go outside sometimes, okay? And not to the field, I mean the city. I just want to see it…Some of the guys talk about it and it seems really cool and fun and not boring, like my room. I’ve been good…for the most part, and I said I was sorry for the lady assistant and the computer. I just wanted to see…something interesting.” Lux pouted. He tried his best to push for puppy eyes, light mint hair sliding over his forehead. His oddly pale purple eyes must have done something because the voice gave a defeated sigh.

“ _If you behave for the rest of the week and act accordingly then we will **think** about letting you see the city, alright?_ ”

Lux nodded enthusiastically, hands folding behind his back as he swayed happily on the heels of his feet.

“ _Now to your left there is a set of three folders. Two are your parents, and one is about yourself. Go ahead and take a look.”_ The voice said, trying to hide and underlying excitement.

“Right to the point then, a man after my heart!” Lux laughed, stepping closer to a corner desk.

All amusement fell away from Lux’s eyes and was replaced with a calculating look. His soft features hardened, back turning away from the mirror and to the dark manila envelopes sitting casually beside one another.

“First things first!” Lux muttered, going for their own profile. He would have laughed at the disappointed grunt that followed if he wasn’t so focused on opening the small folder. _Someone lost a bet_ , Lux thought as he peered down at his own profile.

 

Subject 0XV: LUX

Born: _____________

Height: 52”

Origin: DNA of two highly dangerous individuals were mixed and fertilized in a make shift incubator known as M.A. Six months in the fetus was mixed with eleven percent sodium hydroxide, thirty-four percent sulfuric acid, five percent chromium solution, zinc sulfide, doped with copper, which gives it its green glow. At this point 99% of all test subjects die, but miraculously project 0XV survived and lived to full term.

 

Lux smiled a bit at the snazzy tone the document held. Clicking his tongue Lux went back to reading.

 

Strengths: Immune to most poisons and toxins with side effects like that of being high. Intelligence is average but has the potential to be highly dangerous.-

 

Lux laughed out loud to that. _If only they knew_ , Lux hummed. 

 

-Is able to detect information out of little to no hints of their existence. Hold a stubborn streak that may or may not lead to other potential pros to their strengths.

Weaknesses: Emotional, and a bit too sympathetic from time to time.

 

The rest of the document was blacked out, with a few words here and there, nothing catching Lux’s attention. With a happy click of his tongue Lux looked down at the other two folders, placing his own profile down and away from the rest. After making sure the folder was lined perfectly against the corner of the desk Lux swiped up the closest folder to him and gingerly opened it.

 

Patient: 0801

Patient Name: UNKNOWN (Alias: JOKER)

Classification: Re-Entry

Threat Assignment: Severe

Treatment Ranking: Hostile

 

 _So parent number one is the Joker, **interesting**_ , Lux thought. On the upper left corner of the page sat a picture of a man with short green hair like glowing grass. The smile he had stretched and contorted his face, thinning his lips into red lines. Lux noticed he was wearing white makeup on top of red lipstick, with black eye liner. The makeup was smeared and caking in places like someone ran a hand through it. _He was probably in a fight, given that this is Arkham’s files_ , Lux nodded. He was wearing a purple suite, greens and purples, and some yellow here and there, clashing in a ‘look at me’ fashion. Lux liked his colors, but not that much. He was more of a red kind of guy.

 

Medical Profile: Patient is in decent shape. Suffering from a bit of dehydration and malnutrition.

Psychological Profile: Patient suffers from a wide variety of mental conditions difficult to diagnose. He is homicidally and disregards human life. Unhealthy obsession of batman. Pathological liar, and has a bizarre, morbid sense of humor.

 

Lux could feel the similarities between him and this….his father? Build. Lux thought it was interesting to have traits of someone he’s never met before. The more Lux read the more he came to realize that this Joker might not be insane, but sane. _He must have fun playing the coo-co_ o, Lux laughed silently, hands finally closing the folder and placing it next to his own.

“Maybe I should try the red lipstick, red is my favorite color, after all.” Lux muttered happily.

Finally Lux eyed the last folder, hands shaking with excitement. So far Lux was half crazy and homicidal. He wondered just who else could be as deadly as the man he just read, and why they thought mixing the two together was a good idea. Holding his breath Lux opened the last folder, eyes widening in disbelief.

“So you guys mixed Joker with _Batman_ , Joker’s _obsession_?” Lux laughed. “That’s too good.”

Not waiting for an answer Lux began to look over the small profile.

 

Real Name: UNKNOWN (Alias: The BATMAN)

Occupation: World’s Greatest Detective

Based In: Gotham City

Eye Color: Blue

Height: 6’2”

Information: Batman is known to Gotham as a vigilante. He has a strong conscious desire to right wrongs and fight crime among Gotham’s city. An extremely violent and brutal character that holds no sympathy when dealing with criminals. His archenemies is the Joker. His intelligence is beyond normal, seems to have the will power and strength to deal with a lot of deadly characters in the underbelly of Gotham. His morals are the only reason he isn’t another Joker running around the city. He has yet to kill, which is amazing when dealing with people like Penguin, Crane, Two-Face, and others.

 

“That’s not a lot of information, is Batman really that hard to gather intel from?” Lux asked after he re-read the notes. Even though his tone was playful he was quite serious.

“ _He is quite adapt to covering his tracks._ ”

“Interesting.” Lux muttered, finally placing the folder down and organizing it like the rest.

“ _Interesting indeed_.”

Lux was trying his hardest not to show any emotions as he turned to the glass panel. Only a small smile was left to spill over the abundant of emotions running through his veins. The terrible urge to laugh crossed his mind, but instead Lux looked to the ground. His mind raced at all the possibilities in encountering these men. Of course Lux wanted to meet them, they were, after all his parents, but instead of letting his hopes rise that they’d love him Lux thought of all the fun ways to mess with the men, and maybe get them to work together.

“Wouldn’t that be fun to see?” Lux smiled, finally looking up to the mirror innocently.

“ _See what?”_

“Oh, you know, nothing important.”  Lux laughed.

The men behind the mirror felt a sudden chill douse their spines, eyes widening at the sinister look crossing the young boy’s features. Too bad it was gone before any of them could really grasp what they had seen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> art if from me! my tumblr is godlyanimator! wooh


	2. Fearless Little Shit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> and enter 'Joker'

 

To say Joker was bored was an understatement. Harley was somewhere behind him, talking nonstop, but the Joker was too busy looking out the dirty warehouse window to care. Piles of ship cargo littered the docs in a maze the Joker memorized by heart. Some of his men were leaning against a dirty orange cargo, smoking, ashes flowing through the wind as he flicked the cigarette harshly between his fingertips. Tantalized by the smoke the Joker almost nodded off when a blur of mint green caught his eyes. A few crates away a young boy, maybe ten Joker presumed, was walking casually up toward the doc. He was humming something Joker couldn’t place, wearing a teal dress shirt with black pants and a black vest. His tie and belt were bright red, making it easier to track him as he made it up to where the water touched wood.

The humming seemed to finally catch his men’s attention, causing them to shut up. Luckily Harley chose that moment to join Joker at the window, eyes looking at the boy with confusion. Finally, Joker could hear the boy’s humming as it grew louder.

“Got a secret, can you keep it, swear this one you say,” Lux began to sing, stepping as close to the water as he could possibly go. “Better lock it, in your pocket, taking this one to the grave.”

Lux was finally calming down from his little fiesta where he got away from his body guards. His plan worked beautifully and they finally let him leave the lab. Once they entered the big city Lux made sure they went towards a heavily populated area before bolting. That was nearly two hours ago, and here he was now, by the waters, happy, and free.

“If I show you that I know you, won’t tell what I said. Cause two can keep a secret, if one of them is _dead_.” Lux continued to sing as he stared down at the murky water.

Lux was lucky, really lucky that they didn’t catch him that first hour. He was able to ditch the phone they gave him and steal another from some woman with a white coat. He stole some guys wallet, took the cash, and threw the rest away. He even robbed one of his body guards of a knife that sat pretty in his pocket. It was a bit boring in his opinion, but he couldn’t deny the crisp edges did something to his mind and body, making him giggling like a school girl. The last hour was more of Lux getting lost in the rotten part of town than anything else. Now he was by the water side with a feeling of joy jolting through his skin.

“Hey kid, what do you think you’re doing here?” A voice boomed from behind Lux.

Taken aback because he thought he was alone Lux frowned and turned to see a man towering over him with the ugliest scrawl on his face.

“I was _trying_ to stare into the water and compilate life, what are _you_ doing here?” Lux bit back.

“Do you even know where you are kid?” The man growled, obviously trying hold back his anger.

“Ummm,” Lux paused, looking around. “The docs?”

“Why you sarcastic little shit-” The man yelled raising his hand to hit Lux.

Lux continued to look at the man, unimpressed, ready for the hit before a gun shot rang across the docs. In a spray of beautiful reds and pinks the guys body flew to the right, falling into the water with a loud crash.

“Now, now, now. That’s not how you speak to children, right kid?” The Joker hummed.

The Joker had made his way down to the docs to greet the kid when one of his men decided to ruin the surprise for him. With a new twist the Joker entered the scene with flare, dramatically posing after shooting the man right in front of the kid. To say his men and Harley were terrified for the kid, the Joker couldn’t really seem to care. Harley got as close to the Joker as he would allow, hands shaking with an urge to get between him and the kid.

Once Harley realized that it was a kid that caught the Joker’s attention she tried her best to distract him, which obviously didn’t work. The men who were with the first guy took a step back, not wanting to gain the clown’s attention. Lux’s eyes were wide as he looked toward where the body fell into the water, not sure what to do. He didn’t plan to meet his…donor? Lux wasn’t sure what to call him yet, but he was sure that this wasn’t planned. Lux could feel a weird warmth fill his chest as he looked back at the man, eyes wide.

Lux wasn’t scared, not really, but he was shocked to see the man in person. His eyes were a light green, almost deadly, and his smile was more sinister than what the pictures captured. There was a glint hidden in his eyes, calculating, murderous, and Lux, to everyone’s surprise, smiled.

“Right, not a way to talk to kids!” Lux exclaimed.

Harley nearly fainted, thinking the kid had a death wish. Lux finally snapped out of whatever trance he fell in at seeing the Joker and looked to the blood on the floor. _I wish I had a camera_ , Lux mused. The Joker laughed, to Harley’s relief.

“Tell me kid, what brings you to this side, of hehh, town?” The Joker asked, waving the gun like a toy.

“Pure coincidence. I was running from some people, and low and behold! I got away and got…lost. Hehh.” Lux answered, looking away. “I wasn’t really looking where I was going, or cared. Hey quick question, is your favorite color purple?”

Joker answered with a roaring laughter. Lux looked at him confused, thinking his question was legitimate enough.

“Hey kid, want to hear a joke?” Joker said between laughter.  He kneeled, pointing the gun to Lux’s chest, jabbing him with the tip. Lux could hear a small gasp behind the Joker, not sure why it sounded so scared.

“Sure?” Lux answered.

“So this guy goes into the hospital, okay?” Joker begins, eyeing the boy. “His wife just had a baby and he can’t wait to see them both. So he meets the doctor and he says, ‘Oh, Doc, I’ve been so worried. How are they?’. And the doctor smiles and says, ‘They’re fine. Just fine. You wife delivered a healthy baby boy and they’re both in tip-top form. You’re one lucky guy.’”

Harley was so tense that she nearly jumped the Joker to get the boy away. Lux nodded, waiting for the Joker.

“So the guy rushes into the maternity ward with flowers. But it’s empty. His wife’s bed is empty. ‘Doc?’ He says and turns around and the doctor and all the nurses wave their arms and scream in his face. ‘April Fools! Your wife’s dead and the baby’s a spastic!!’” Joker finishes, eyes staring intently at Lux.

Lux snorted loudly before full on laughing.

“April Fools! Hahha that’s too good.” Lux laughed, grabbing his stomach.

“Mistah J, don’t ya think that’s enough?” Harley finally asked, finding her voice. She got the courage to stand beside the Joker, hands on her hip, trying her hardest not to look worried. The Joker stood to watch Lux laugh, gun falling to his side. At first the Joker thought the boy was trying to steal his good looks and start a fight, but after his quite adorable laughter the Joker wanted to keep him.

“Hush now Harley, can’t you see I’m entertaining our new guest?” Joker hummed.

The Joker was happy to see someone liked his joke. The man he shot in the head didn’t seem all that interested listening to it, at the time. Joker took that moment to look at the boy curiously. With a closer look the boy looked about eight years old, give or take, and seemed to be new to the town, if his sense of direction led him to these parts. The Joker did think about killing the kid, since he didn’t take to kindly to copy-cats, but the Joker noticed his hair was natural. His eyes were purple and might be a shade to light in Joker’s opinion, but the mirth he saw swimming underneath the calculating glance made Joker think of someone else. He couldn’t quite place who the kid reminded him of, but it was enough to keep the gun drawn to the floor.

“My name is Lux, by the way, nice to meet you!” Lux said after he was finally done laughing. He lifted his hand, placing it in front of the Joker.

“Joker, pleasures all mine.” The Joker smiled, shaking the boy’s hand. Harley waited for the shock, but it never came. Letting a bit of her fear drop she realized the Joker forgot his buzzer.

“It’s getting pretty cold out here, why don’t you join me and my dear Harley inside for some coffee, or whatever it is you kids drink these days?” The Joker hummed.

Lux, finally noticing Harley, looked at her oddly. Turning back to the Joker he noticed his tone gave no room for argument and nodded in agreement. Smiling the Joker turned and began walking toward the warehouse, not caring to see the boy follow. Harley looked at the boy, a bit of fear slipping past her features once the Joker was a bit away.

“You sure you want to join us kid? Misha J is kind of…dangerous to the young ones.” Harley asked as Lux began to follow the Joker.

“Yeah I’m sure, I’ll be fine, Ms. Harley! Nice to meet you too, by the way.” Lux smiled as Harley joined him.

“You’re not from around here, are ya?” Harley asked as the Joker stopped to open the door for the two of them.

“What makes you think that?” Lux asked playfully. Harley noticed a darker undertone to the kid’s voice, causing her to hesitate in step. Before she knew it Lux and the Joker disappeared inside the warehouse, causing her to hurry to catch up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	3. Live A Little

 

 

“So tell me a bit about your self kid.” Joker hummed, nursing a glass of jack on ice. Harley sat to his left, pouting, drinking some fruity drink the Joker could care less about. Lux sat at the other end of the corner table, feet swinging a bit as he tried and failed to have them touch the floor, drinking some soda that he never got to taste while locked up.

Lux was a bit cautious, wondering if he should come out with the whole truth or not. Deciding against that thought he took a sip of his pop before setting it gently on the table. He made sure it was dead center on the napkin he grabbed at the bar behind him before answering the Joker. To Harley’s joy the Joker didn’t get mad at the kid for not answering right away. Instead he quirked a curious brow at how the kid concentrated on organizing his glass. It amused the Joker because the place was far from clean, but the kid seemed determine to make his glass look at neat as possible.

“I am currently on the run from some of my, let call them, ‘body guards’.” Lux quotes with his hands. “I was born in some god awful lab and I finally got them to let me _ou **t**_. And what I mean by ‘out’ it means I ran away.”

Lux smiled a bit, looking down and towards the table. Looking back up Lux was a bit taken aback by the calm look in the Joker’s face. There wasn’t that deadly glow, but a soft light, curious. Lux looked to Harley then to the men behind him. Everyone was still pretty scared of the Joker, none but Harley were trying to hide that fact. Lux remembered the gun to his chest, how it felt, and the lack of fear. Maybe he should be a bit worried about the fact that he wasn’t scared, but Lux blamed genetics.

“Interesting, a lab you say?” Joker asked while taking a sip of his jack.

“Yeah I’m a test tube baby! Can you believe that?! What a boring story.” Lux muttered. He hated that fact about his life. “They wanted to see what would happen when they mix two strands of DNA from deadly test subjects  to create me. They like to poke and prod me with nettles all the time, getting my blood, sometimes even test different meds on me. There was this one time they gave me some tear gas? Or some green gas. That wasn’t fun, for them anyways. I may or may not have wretched my room, and nearly escaped! No more gas for me, they told me. Truthfully that was the most fun I had last year.”

That piped Joker’s interest. Green gas was his signature mixture, and from what the kid was saying it seemed he wasn’t affected by it. That made the Joker interested in who the two ‘dangerous DNA’ mixes were. _Maybe Poison Ivy, but who else?_ The Joker wondered. Just as the Joker was about to ask such a thing one of his men, Johnny, came up the to table quite harshly, knocking into Lux, causing him to hit his drink with his elbow. The cup tipped and fell, spilling the brown liquid onto wood, tainting the napkin brown. The Joker frowned, unimpressed by Johnny’s sudden appearance, when something dark flashed across Lux’s features. Johnny didn’t even look to the kid, which Joker assumed was a mistake because from one moment to the next Lux shot up, standing on the chair, a knife drawn and pressing against Johnny’s neck. Joker sitting as calm as ever sat up with excitement when he saw the wild look dance across the boy’s features.

“That wasn’t very **_polite_** of you.” Lux growled. Harley was now sitting up, not sure what to do. The kid’s eyes began to glow with hidden hysteria.

“A ‘ _excuse me sir_ ’ would be **_appropriate_** , or ‘ _pardon me for the intrusion_ ’, not this rather frank way of getting someone’s attention.” Lux hissed, pressing the knife closer to Johnny’s skin. Johnny was at a loss, not sure about what to do, but looked to the Joker for help. The Joker was far from help, too amused by Lux’s reaction to crude behavior.

“I think you’d look beautiful with some _red_ , no? A nice shade to cover that suite of yours, maybe as an apology? I would love to see how _pretty_ I can make you so that you will apologize-”

“I-I-I’m sorry, kid.” Johnny said quickly, eyes widening as he looked toward the kid. No one told him the Joker had a kid, and just that fact made Johnny feel like his life was finally over, this was it. How this information got past Johnny was worrying, but he’d worry about that later if he lived.

“Nice try, but I think I’d prefer a red apolo-”

“ _That’s **enough**_.” The Joker hissed, finally bored at watching the kid lose it.

And just like that Lux blinked, looking at the Joker, before looking down at his hand where the knife sat against Johnny’s throat.

“I-I-I-I’m s-sorry!” Lux yelled, sitting down immediately, blushing.

“Damn J! You couldn’t have stopped the kid sooner!” Johnny yelled, stepping away as he rubbed his neck, checking for any wounds.

“Hush, now is not the time to pout Johnny, what do you want?” Joker hissed.

“I didn’t know you had a kid J, why didn’t you tell me?” Johnny asked, eyeing the kid cautiously.

Lux glared at him, the kind of glare that makes men run, and Johnny could feel those eyes on him with distaste. Lux thought his identity was ruined, and he almost bolted when Joker rolled his eyes.

“Not my kid. Found him running around the yard and invited him inside. Johnny, Lux. Lux, Johnny.”

“ ** _Pleasures_** all mine.” Lux smiled with a wild hunger beneath his words.

“Sure.” Johnny said, taking another step closer to the Joker.

“I’m not ganna ask _again_ Johnny boy.” Joker hummed wickedly.

“Oh, right. There was a break in at one of the locations where some of your funny gas sat. People say the Batman is there ransacking the place-”

“Say no more!” Joker shot up, pushing Harley out of the way. “Looks like it’s date time with me and _batsy_! Don’t be scared to come back kid, but grownups have work to do! Toddles~”

And just like that Lux was forgotten. Lux’s chest grew tight, but he made sure it didn’t show as he watched the Joker leave. The document wasn’t lying when they said he was obsessed with Batman. Lux wasn’t sure how to feel, well he was sure he felt like shit, a bit abandoned, but those were to be expected, _right_? Lux wasn’t sure he could go through with separating himself from his…parents. The idea seemed solid enough at the time, get to know the parentals, mess with some of their plans, then get them to work together, but Lux was still young and he underestimated the urge to be loved.

“Don’t take it personal kid.” Harley, who Lux nearly forgot about, thinking she had followed the Joker smiled warmly at him. “Once Batman enters any conversation you can say goodbye to the Joker.”

“Oh.” Lux nodded, looking back to where the Joker left.

“Come on, I’ll take you for some ice cream so we can talk, then you can go on your merry way!” Harley laughed, grabbing Lux’s hand and pulling him towards a different exit.

Lux just went with the flow, finally noting Harley in full. She was quiet for the most part, but Lux assumed it was because of the whole Joker pointing a gun at him. It seems she valued children’s lives, which gave Lux a bit of insight into her personality. It was no doubt she was in love with the Joker, that much was obvious, and she wasn’t all too worried about his violence unless it was directed towards him. She was a good person, over all, Lux thought as they made their way through some shady alleyways. Five minutes later they sat in a small corner stop, and ice cream shop, with Harley and Lux sitting by the window watching some of the shadier citizens go about their days.

Lux let Harley order for him, since he’s never had ice cream before, and would rather keep that a secret. Harley seemed to get the hint, but said nothing as she ordered two Sundays, one chocolate for herself, and caramel for Lux.

“You seem like a sugary kind of guy.” Harley laughed, spoon dipping into her Sunday with favor.

They ate in silence for a while, Lux looking out the window, analyzing every person passing by, waiting for men in suites to come take him away.

“So you thinking on coming back to visit?” Harley finally asked, smiling softly as Lux finished a piece of banana. Swallowing Lux looked to Harley, trying to get a read on her.

“I think so? I’m not sure.” Lux admitted.

“I know the Joker looks like a fun, cool, new thing, but he’s really dangerous.”

“Yeah I got that when he poked me with the gun.” Lux laughed.

“And that doesn’t scare you?” Harley wondered.

“I mean…should it? I’m not too sure what’s supposed to scare me anymore.” Lux huffed.

Lux realized talking to Harley was easy, and he missed easy. He missed not needing to hide how he felt, what was bothering him. He missed _her_.

“Why wouldn’t you know what’s scary, is something happening to you at the lab?” Harley asked, a bit nervous for Lux. Something protective bloomed in Harley.

“What _isn’t_ happening to me in the lab.” Lux tried to joke. When Harley’s gaze intensified, Lux bit his lip, wondering if he should tell her.

Lux thought about the pros and cons of telling her, and they ended up being equal. Why should he trust a stranger? There was no reason other than the inviting vibe Harley gave off that made Lux feel welcome. Lux tried his hardest to push himself away emotionally, but the more Harley looked at him the harder it got. He was young, love hungry, and tired from the long day of unplanned meetings. He just wanted someone to pay attention to him. Growing annoyed with himself, at his weakness, at his emotions, he felt his wall slip and everything crashed into him, rendering him blurry eyed.

So he told her the truth. He told her of Lilly first. She was the closest thing to a mother he’s ever had. She would spend hours with him, helped him learn, taught him to read, write, and draw. She’d even bring him candy on the low so that he could taste something other than the bland mush he was given to survive. Lux had loved her, really loved her. She knew some of his darker secrets, some that she refused to tell the men behind the mirror, and that made Lux love her more.

Then one day she hung herself in her office. Lux was told to go get her, bring her to the lab with him when he was greeted with the sight of Lilly, dead, hands frozen at her neck like she was trying to pry the noose off. At first Lux panicked, trying to get her down, but he didn’t’ have the strength. Lux can remember looking around the room, at the mess, and immediately realized that she didn’t kill herself, but was in fact killed and staged. That was the day Lux lost all trust for the men behind the mirror. Eventually after Lux stopped answering the voice in the sky, men can into the room to find Lux still trying to get Lilly down. He was crying, shaking as his legs strained from the hour he was up on her desk trying to get her down.

They questioned him for hours after that, asking how he felt, what he saw, did he notice anything. Lux told them nothing but that he was sad. He didn’t stop crying until the third day when they told him Lilly’s family had a funeral for her and buried her that day. The following week Beth entered his life. At first Lux chose not to get close to her in fear that she’d become another Lilly, but Lux was craving affection, and two years had passed before he began to grow close to Beth. Beth was a strong girl, brave, and rude. She’d cuss up a storm, scold Lux for being rude, but then turn around and tell him stories of the city once he properly apologized.

Beth taught him some basic fighting techniques, even showed him how to use a knife. They’d practice with plastic ones just so Lux could get a feel for them. Then it was shot time. It was a yearly thing for Lux and a lot of the other employees in the building. It was to make sure they didn’t get sick or spread any unwanted diseases. So the doses were set up on a table for Lux and Beth, only this time Beth asked Lux to give her the shot. It was simple enough, easy in fact, but the cost was Beth’s life. The men behind the mirror had filled both shots with poison, wanted to see what would happen if Lux was the reason for someone he loved death, and to see if he would survive being poisoned as well.

Lux watched Beth convulse from her seat to the floor, making a mess of bodily fluids. Lux, not wanting to face what was happening, yet again, he grabbed the other nettle and injected himself. To Lux’s disappointment he survived. Beth was the last straw. He went crazy for a few weeks, tearing about any room he entered, attacking anyone that dared to get close. They had to tranquilize him in order to get any blood work done.

As Lux finished telling Harley what had happened he looked up to see her crying. It wasn’t a cry that made Lux angry because she wasn’t looking at him like he was pathetic. Instead Harley was angry, pissed, and didn’t know what else to do but cry her frustration away. Lux sat awkwardly, looking away from Harley to the window. He did feel a bit lighter, like something heavy was lifted from his chest.

“Sweetie I know this might seem a bit odd but I have a friend you can stay with. She’s nice, love plants, and I’m sure she’d take you in for a couple of days. Until we can find a better solution, ya know?” Harley finally spoke up, whipping her face. Her make up was ruined but she didn’t care, only worried about the boy who looked back at her with sad eyes.

“That’s nice of you to offer, but I don’t think that’s a good idea. I still have some things to do, you know adventures to fulfil.” Lux lied.

The offer was tempting but Lux would rather not bother Harley. She had listened to him without interruption and that was more than enough. Knowing that she was about to insister Lux hopped off his seat and gave Harley a quick hug before bolting to the door.

“See you around!” Lux exclaimed, smiling at Harley before disappearing into the crowd of towns people. Harley went to follow but lost Lux early on, cursing under her breath.

“Shit.” Harley hissed, shaking her head.

Lux was gone and Harley felt empty. Shaking her head she headed back to the warehouse to wait for the Joker. She needed to have a little _chat_ with him to see where he stood on the subject of the boy. Harley wasn’t about to let the Joker do anything crude to the boy, and she would rather die than see the boy fall into the Joker’s hands. Sending the Joker a quick text Harley went home to prepare for their conversation, blood still boiling from the information she gathered.

 

 

 

 

 

 


	4. Guessing Game

 

 

“So tell me a bit about your self kid.” Joker hummed, nursing a glass of jack on ice. Harley sat to his left, pouting, drinking some fruity drink the Joker could care less about. Lux sat at the other end of the corner table, feet swinging a bit as he tried and failed to have them touch the floor, drinking some soda that he never got to taste while locked up.

Lux was a bit cautious, wondering if he should come out with the whole truth or not. Deciding against that thought he took a sip of his pop before setting it gently on the table. He made sure it was dead center on the napkin he grabbed at the bar behind him before answering the Joker. To Harley’s joy the Joker didn’t get mad at the kid for not answering right away. Instead he quirked a curious brow at how the kid concentrated on organizing his glass. It amused the Joker because the place was far from clean, but the kid seemed determine to make his glass look at neat as possible.

“I am currently on the run from some of my, let call them, ‘body guards’.” Lux quotes with his hands. “I was born in some god awful lab and I finally got them to let me _ou **t**_. And what I mean by ‘out’ it means I ran away.”

Lux smiled a bit, looking down and towards the table. Looking back up Lux was a bit taken aback by the calm look in the Joker’s face. There wasn’t that deadly glow, but a soft light, curious. Lux looked to Harley then to the men behind him. Everyone was still pretty scared of the Joker, none but Harley were trying to hide that fact. Lux remembered the gun to his chest, how it felt, and the lack of fear. Maybe he should be a bit worried about the fact that he wasn’t scared, but Lux blamed genetics.

“Interesting, a lab you say?” Joker asked while taking a sip of his jack.

“Yeah I’m a test tube baby! Can you believe that?! What a boring story.” Lux muttered. He hated that fact about his life. “They wanted to see what would happen when they mix two strands of DNA from deadly test subjects  to create me. They like to poke and prod me with nettles all the time, getting my blood, sometimes even test different meds on me. There was this one time they gave me some tear gas? Or some green gas. That wasn’t fun, for them anyways. I may or may not have wretched my room, and nearly escaped! No more gas for me, they told me. Truthfully that was the most fun I had last year.”

That piped Joker’s interest. Green gas was his signature mixture, and from what the kid was saying it seemed he wasn’t affected by it. That made the Joker interested in who the two ‘dangerous DNA’ mixes were. _Maybe Poison Ivy, but who else?_ The Joker wondered. Just as the Joker was about to ask such a thing one of his men, Johnny, came up the to table quite harshly, knocking into Lux, causing him to hit his drink with his elbow. The cup tipped and fell, spilling the brown liquid onto wood, tainting the napkin brown. The Joker frowned, unimpressed by Johnny’s sudden appearance, when something dark flashed across Lux’s features. Johnny didn’t even look to the kid, which Joker assumed was a mistake because from one moment to the next Lux shot up, standing on the chair, a knife drawn and pressing against Johnny’s neck. Joker sitting as calm as ever sat up with excitement when he saw the wild look dance across the boy’s features.

“That wasn’t very **_polite_** of you.” Lux growled. Harley was now sitting up, not sure what to do. The kid’s eyes began to glow with hidden hysteria.

“A ‘ _excuse me sir_ ’ would be **_appropriate_** , or ‘ _pardon me for the intrusion_ ’, not this rather frank way of getting someone’s attention.” Lux hissed, pressing the knife closer to Johnny’s skin. Johnny was at a loss, not sure about what to do, but looked to the Joker for help. The Joker was far from help, too amused by Lux’s reaction to crude behavior.

“I think you’d look beautiful with some _red_ , no? A nice shade to cover that suite of yours, maybe as an apology? I would love to see how _pretty_ I can make you so that you will apologize-”

“I-I-I’m sorry, kid.” Johnny said quickly, eyes widening as he looked toward the kid. No one told him the Joker had a kid, and just that fact made Johnny feel like his life was finally over, this was it. How this information got past Johnny was worrying, but he’d worry about that later if he lived.

“Nice try, but I think I’d prefer a red apolo-”

“ _That’s **enough**_.” The Joker hissed, finally bored at watching the kid lose it.

And just like that Lux blinked, looking at the Joker, before looking down at his hand where the knife sat against Johnny’s throat.

“I-I-I-I’m s-sorry!” Lux yelled, sitting down immediately, blushing.

“Damn J! You couldn’t have stopped the kid sooner!” Johnny yelled, stepping away as he rubbed his neck, checking for any wounds.

“Hush, now is not the time to pout Johnny, what do you want?” Joker hissed.

“I didn’t know you had a kid J, why didn’t you tell me?” Johnny asked, eyeing the kid cautiously.

Lux glared at him, the kind of glare that makes men run, and Johnny could feel those eyes on him with distaste. Lux thought his identity was ruined, and he almost bolted when Joker rolled his eyes.

“Not my kid. Found him running around the yard and invited him inside. Johnny, Lux. Lux, Johnny.”

“ ** _Pleasures_** all mine.” Lux smiled with a wild hunger beneath his words.

“Sure.” Johnny said, taking another step closer to the Joker.

“I’m not ganna ask _again_ Johnny boy.” Joker hummed wickedly.

“Oh, right. There was a break in at one of the locations where some of your funny gas sat. People say the Batman is there ransacking the place-”

“Say no more!” Joker shot up, pushing Harley out of the way. “Looks like it’s date time with me and _batsy_! Don’t be scared to come back kid, but grownups have work to do! Toddles~”

And just like that Lux was forgotten. Lux’s chest grew tight, but he made sure it didn’t show as he watched the Joker leave. The document wasn’t lying when they said he was obsessed with Batman. Lux wasn’t sure how to feel, well he was sure he felt like shit, a bit abandoned, but those were to be expected, _right_? Lux wasn’t sure he could go through with separating himself from his…parents. The idea seemed solid enough at the time, get to know the parentals, mess with some of their plans, then get them to work together, but Lux was still young and he underestimated the urge to be loved.

“Don’t take it personal kid.” Harley, who Lux nearly forgot about, thinking she had followed the Joker smiled warmly at him. “Once Batman enters any conversation you can say goodbye to the Joker.”

“Oh.” Lux nodded, looking back to where the Joker left.

“Come on, I’ll take you for some ice cream so we can talk, then you can go on your merry way!” Harley laughed, grabbing Lux’s hand and pulling him towards a different exit.

Lux just went with the flow, finally noting Harley in full. She was quiet for the most part, but Lux assumed it was because of the whole Joker pointing a gun at him. It seems she valued children’s lives, which gave Lux a bit of insight into her personality. It was no doubt she was in love with the Joker, that much was obvious, and she wasn’t all too worried about his violence unless it was directed towards him. She was a good person, over all, Lux thought as they made their way through some shady alleyways. Five minutes later they sat in a small corner stop, and ice cream shop, with Harley and Lux sitting by the window watching some of the shadier citizens go about their days.

Lux let Harley order for him, since he’s never had ice cream before, and would rather keep that a secret. Harley seemed to get the hint, but said nothing as she ordered two Sundays, one chocolate for herself, and caramel for Lux.

“You seem like a sugary kind of guy.” Harley laughed, spoon dipping into her Sunday with favor.

They ate in silence for a while, Lux looking out the window, analyzing every person passing by, waiting for men in suites to come take him away.

“So you thinking on coming back to visit?” Harley finally asked, smiling softly as Lux finished a piece of banana. Swallowing Lux looked to Harley, trying to get a read on her.

“I think so? I’m not sure.” Lux admitted.

“I know the Joker looks like a fun, cool, new thing, but he’s really dangerous.”

“Yeah I got that when he poked me with the gun.” Lux laughed.

“And that doesn’t scare you?” Harley wondered.

“I mean…should it? I’m not too sure what’s supposed to scare me anymore.” Lux huffed.

Lux realized talking to Harley was easy, and he missed easy. He missed not needing to hide how he felt, what was bothering him. He missed _her_.

“Why wouldn’t you know what’s scary, is something happening to you at the lab?” Harley asked, a bit nervous for Lux. Something protective bloomed in Harley.

“What _isn’t_ happening to me in the lab.” Lux tried to joke. When Harley’s gaze intensified, Lux bit his lip, wondering if he should tell her.

Lux thought about the pros and cons of telling her, and they ended up being equal. Why should he trust a stranger? There was no reason other than the inviting vibe Harley gave off that made Lux feel welcome. Lux tried his hardest to push himself away emotionally, but the more Harley looked at him the harder it got. He was young, love hungry, and tired from the long day of unplanned meetings. He just wanted someone to pay attention to him. Growing annoyed with himself, at his weakness, at his emotions, he felt his wall slip and everything crashed into him, rendering him blurry eyed.

So he told her the truth. He told her of Lilly first. She was the closest thing to a mother he’s ever had. She would spend hours with him, helped him learn, taught him to read, write, and draw. She’d even bring him candy on the low so that he could taste something other than the bland mush he was given to survive. Lux had loved her, really loved her. She knew some of his darker secrets, some that she refused to tell the men behind the mirror, and that made Lux love her more.

Then one day she hung herself in her office. Lux was told to go get her, bring her to the lab with him when he was greeted with the sight of Lilly, dead, hands frozen at her neck like she was trying to pry the noose off. At first Lux panicked, trying to get her down, but he didn’t’ have the strength. Lux can remember looking around the room, at the mess, and immediately realized that she didn’t kill herself, but was in fact killed and staged. That was the day Lux lost all trust for the men behind the mirror. Eventually after Lux stopped answering the voice in the sky, men can into the room to find Lux still trying to get Lilly down. He was crying, shaking as his legs strained from the hour he was up on her desk trying to get her down.

They questioned him for hours after that, asking how he felt, what he saw, did he notice anything. Lux told them nothing but that he was sad. He didn’t stop crying until the third day when they told him Lilly’s family had a funeral for her and buried her that day. The following week Beth entered his life. At first Lux chose not to get close to her in fear that she’d become another Lilly, but Lux was craving affection, and two years had passed before he began to grow close to Beth. Beth was a strong girl, brave, and rude. She’d cuss up a storm, scold Lux for being rude, but then turn around and tell him stories of the city once he properly apologized.

Beth taught him some basic fighting techniques, even showed him how to use a knife. They’d practice with plastic ones just so Lux could get a feel for them. Then it was shot time. It was a yearly thing for Lux and a lot of the other employees in the building. It was to make sure they didn’t get sick or spread any unwanted diseases. So the doses were set up on a table for Lux and Beth, only this time Beth asked Lux to give her the shot. It was simple enough, easy in fact, but the cost was Beth’s life. The men behind the mirror had filled both shots with poison, wanted to see what would happen if Lux was the reason for someone he loved death, and to see if he would survive being poisoned as well.

Lux watched Beth convulse from her seat to the floor, making a mess of bodily fluids. Lux, not wanting to face what was happening, yet again, he grabbed the other nettle and injected himself. To Lux’s disappointment he survived. Beth was the last straw. He went crazy for a few weeks, tearing about any room he entered, attacking anyone that dared to get close. They had to tranquilize him in order to get any blood work done.

As Lux finished telling Harley what had happened he looked up to see her crying. It wasn’t a cry that made Lux angry because she wasn’t looking at him like he was pathetic. Instead Harley was angry, pissed, and didn’t know what else to do but cry her frustration away. Lux sat awkwardly, looking away from Harley to the window. He did feel a bit lighter, like something heavy was lifted from his chest.

“Sweetie I know this might seem a bit odd but I have a friend you can stay with. She’s nice, love plants, and I’m sure she’d take you in for a couple of days. Until we can find a better solution, ya know?” Harley finally spoke up, whipping her face. Her make up was ruined but she didn’t care, only worried about the boy who looked back at her with sad eyes.

“That’s nice of you to offer, but I don’t think that’s a good idea. I still have some things to do, you know adventures to fulfil.” Lux lied.

The offer was tempting but Lux would rather not bother Harley. She had listened to him without interruption and that was more than enough. Knowing that she was about to insister Lux hopped off his seat and gave Harley a quick hug before bolting to the door.

“See you around!” Lux exclaimed, smiling at Harley before disappearing into the crowd of towns people. Harley went to follow but lost Lux early on, cursing under her breath.

“Shit.” Harley hissed, shaking her head.

Lux was gone and Harley felt empty. Shaking her head she headed back to the warehouse to wait for the Joker. She needed to have a little _chat_ with him to see where he stood on the subject of the boy. Harley wasn’t about to let the Joker do anything crude to the boy, and she would rather die than see the boy fall into the Joker’s hands. Sending the Joker a quick text Harley went home to prepare for their conversation, blood still boiling from the information she gathered.

 

 

 

 

 

 


	5. Back at it again

 

Lux knew his luck had ran out the moment he turned the next street corner and right into a group of five men in suites. On their left shoulders sat the ‘G.E.M’ logo Lux was used to seeing all over the lab.

“ ** _Damn_**.” Lux hissed, trying to turn around and run the opposite direction. But it was too late, the men spotted him and cornered him. Lux would have been angry at himself if this wasn’t his first little escape, but it was and he had to deal with the notion that he wasn’t as slick as he had hopped. But now he knew a bit more about the town, what districts to go, which ones he was ‘supposed’ to avoid, and what types of people laid about.

“We found him sir.” Jared, his least favorite guard said into a mike. “Uninjured. No. No. Okay. Heading back now.”

“No hard feelings, right guys?” Lux laughed nervously as he was pushed towards a sleek dark gray car. Harshly Lux was thrown into the car and squished between two men whose hands held him still with bruising force. Jared lifted his glasses then and a black eye, one Lux gifted to him hours earlier, began to bloom in beautiful shades of purple and yellow.

“It’s not that bad, Jared. Hey it’s only fair, you did try to shoot me the last time we had a…disagreement.” Lux murmured.

Instead of keeping his mouth shut like Lux should have done he was instead silenced with a hard punch to his gut. Being unprepared for the hit Lux had trouble catching his breath all the way until they reach the lab. Lux gripped his stomach, feeling like a rib was fractured.

“Jerk.” Lux hissed as the men dragged him from the car all the way to an empty drain lab, throwing him on the floor before locking him in. Jared was the only one with him inside the room, and if Lux wasn’t still trying to catch his breath he’d gut that smug smile off his old face.

“You messed up kid.” Jared hummed, cracking his knuckles. Lux managed to scoot to the farthest wall, back pressing against the cold tiles. “See you could have had it easy for a few more years, maybe even another Lilly.”

Lux flinched.

“But you just had to go and fuck that up. The boss wanted to hold off on these ‘tests’ till you were old, stronger, but since you’ve been hold out on what you know, well the boss thought this would be a good punishment for ya’.” Jared smiled.

“And what’s that?” Lux asked. Dread creeped its way up his spine, causing him to tremble.

“See how much you can take, how long you can go before you crack.” Jared said as he walked up to Lux. “Since you know who your daddy boys are, then you can assume they have high pain tolerances. Wanted to see if that was genetic or not, and behold, you, the perfect test subject to test just that theory.”

“B-but w-what if I-I die?” Lux hissed.

“You won’t be the first. Maybe the first to last this long, but you’re nothing but a formula, the right mixture of ingredients. We can always make another one of ya’ if you die.” Jared laughed.

 

.               .               .

 

Lux wasn’t sure if it was drool or blood falling out of his mouth and into a pile next to his bruising hands. Every part of his body hurt. He’s been beaten before, but nothing compared to this. After a few sucker punches Jared thought it would be fun to throw Lux around the room, breaking a few of his ribs, probably fracturing his hands, and possibly his breaking his jaw. Lux couldn’t really tell and he didn’t feel like moving to find out.

Lux was ashamed to admit he cried, a lot. He even begged for it to stop, but Jared wouldn’t until he was near death. To Jared’s disappointment he realized that pain tolerance wasn’t genetic. It had been five hours since Jared’s little fiesta and Lux wanted nothing more than to sleep, but the pain kept his eyes open and ears listening for another round. Round after round and Lux lost track of time. Lux always thought he was strong. He thought he had a will of fire when it came to pain, but oh how wrong he was.

Closing his eyes for a moment Lux tried not to think about the fact that no one would come and save him, not this time, and not ever again. He was alone, useless, just another subject. To these men he wasn’t even human. If he had any more tears left Lux would still be crying, but instead his body shook with loneliness. No one wanted him. No one cared. Lux remembered Harley, but she didn’t know, couldn’t know what was happening to him. She’d probably abandon him like the rest once she realized how difficult he was. He knew he was hard to deal with, hard to like.

He was mood swing city. He was unwanted and hated. The few hours he was left alone between beatings left Lux thinking about the full consequences of having two dangerous fathers. These men were hated, loathed, despised. If anyone knew who he was made of they’d try to kill him. Maybe that’s what he needed now, death. But then they’d just make another one. And another one after that. Lux felt sorry for whomever came after him if he died. They’d do the same things to them. Make them love. Make them hate. Make them hurt.

As much as a calloused person Lux tried to act he was actually really loving. He yearned for the touch of another individual that wasn’t trying to gain something from him, and just their attention. Lux could only pretend for so long before he started to fall into depression. In reality he didn’t want to die. Maybe it was because of fear, or because if he did another kid would have to go through what he has, but that seemed to be enough to keep his body breathing.

Lux didn’t want to be weak. He really didn’t, but he thought about his father’s and maybe they would want him. Or just take him in. Harley had offered a place to stay, but he was tired of looking for parental substitutes. He wanted the real thing for once. Maybe the Joker would be his first choice, only because they seemed to be similar. But Harley had said he wasn’t good with kids. Lux wanted to try despite that. Maybe Batman would want him? But Batman seemed like the type to hold a grudge and if he found out he was part Joker than maybe he’d hurt him too.

The uncertainties and possibilities swirled through Lux’s mind, keeping him from noticing a shaken, small woman enter the room. She walked up to him, lifting his wrist to check for a pulse. Lux hissed, eyes snapping open to stare into the shocked eyes of the lady. She smiled sadly down at him but made no move to talk to him. Lux’s instincts kicked in, making him analyze the woman before spotting an id card. It was an all access card, something Lux could use to escape.

Thinking on his feet Lux groaned, causing the lady to shift closer and peer down at Lux. With extreme effort Lux swiped the card, tucking it in the bloody sleeve of his teal shirt. Eventually the lady finished her exam and left Lux alone. Ignoring all his doubts, all his inner turmoil, Lux decided to test his body. He started by sitting up. His wrists ached, but he was able to sit with little dizziness. Exhaling through gritted teeth Lux dared to stand, leaning against the wall behind him. Luckily his feet weren’t too damaged, and neither were his legs.

Pain flowed through Lux, making it hard to think clearly as he tried to take a step forward. Lux’s mind fell into panic as he tried again and again to take a step without passing out. Adrenaline boosted Lux past some of the pain and got him to the door. Lux didn’t want to die here. He didn’t want to die at all. As those thoughts consumed him Lux was able to get the door open and peer around the corner. No one was standing guard. They probably thought Lux would die or was dying and didn’t bother to make sure he stayed put.

Taking the chance Lux made his way out of the room, stumbling, nearly passing out as he made it down the hall. Lux knew of another exit than the one he came from. It was closer to him. As quickly as he could move he made his way to the door, pushing it open and falling into a small patch of grass. He had made it outside. He had made it. Nearly crying in relief Lux crawled until he was hidden behind some bushes before stopping to catch his breath.

Five minutes later Lux was on his feet and moving towards the city when the lab erupted with sound, alarms blazing across the dull colored building. Smiling Lux pushed himself until he was far enough away, falling into Gotham’s crowds like he belonged.

 

.               .               .

 

A week passed since the Joker saw Batman. At the beginning Joker thought Batman was still pulling his leg so he tried to pull off a small hostage situation. But instead of Batman showing up his bat family came, to Joker’s distaste. Before the fight could even start Joker pouted, throwing his gun at Batgirl’s head before storming off, leaving his goons, the batfam, and hostages gaping. Three buildings away Joker found himself kicking the top of some dirty building ground as he paced back and forth, fuming.

“Having a bad day?” A voice murmured from somewhere behind the Joker. Jumping, mad that he was caught off guard, Joker turned but saw no one. Drawing his gun Joker gritted his teeth, eyes scanning the area as he tried to spot the interruption. A dark, gurgling cough came up to the right of the Joker and he followed the sound.

Leaning against a small air unit Lux smiled awkwardly, hand barley lifting from his chest to wave his fingers. Joker frowned, lowering his gun, and taking a step closer to Lux.

“You look like shit.” The Joker noted, finally putting his gun away. The kid was breathing shallowly, eyes closing as he smiled and huffed out a pathetic laugh.

“Why thank you, I tried.” Lux mused.

Joker, against his own accord, kneeled to get a better look at the kid. The Joker could tell the kid was severely beaten, obvious wounds on his face, and from his lack of movement he assumed elsewhere. Joker, not too sure what he should do sat in front of Lux, elbows on his knees, head in his hands.

“What happened?” Joker asked, truly curious.

“I fell down some stairs.” Lux joked. Or tried to.

Opening his eyes Lux looked to see the Joker look unimpressed, rolling his eyes before looking toward the sky.

“Fine. My ‘ _body guards_ ’ found me. Thought that I was old enough to see if pain tolerance was genetic.” Lux sighed. “It’s not, by the way.”

“Seems like they just wanted to see you dead.” The Joker hummed.

Joker could have told those scientists pain tolerance wasn’t genetic. Looking back at the kid he saw the smallest hint of fear pass through his pale purple eyes before being replaced with detachment.

“Don’t take it too hard, kid. People are always trying to kill me, but you don’t see me pouting about it.” Joker laughed. 

“Then how come you’re out here by yourself?” Lux asked. 

“That’s…none of your _business_.” Joker hissed. “I’m just having a bad week.”

“Amen to that.” Lux agreed.

For a moment the two sat in silence, just feeling the air on their skin.

“Tell me something kid. Ever wish you had a family?” Joker asked, looking to the ground.

“A family?”

“You know, mom and dad, siblings, the whole _freak_ -I mean _beautiful_ life.”

“I-I-I’m not sure. I mean it sounds nice, in theory. But…”

The Joker waited, intent on listening to the boy. The Joker was trying to gage his own fantasies, even if they were compared to that of a child’s. Everyone around him was so sure he would never want to be normal, or want normal things. They thought he was incapable of feeling past his blood lust. But in reality there were times the Joker craved normalcy. Even if it was just a dream.

“I guess we can both agree neither of us have a family at the moment.” Lux finally spoke, closing his eyes again. “And going off our first meeting, and even now, you’re a difficult person to be around.”

Joker glared up at the kid. Before he could say anything Lux continued.

“But so am I. I chase people away, either by accident or by force. Sometimes I think the only reason some people talk to me nicely is because they think I’d hurt them otherwise.”

Coughing Lux groaned, hands wrapping tighter around his stomach.

“It’s easier to pretend that distance doesn’t hurt. It’s easier acting like a complete jerk. But…a normal family isn’t what I want. What I want is just…acceptance. And maybe a hug.” Lux laughed pathetically. “A hug would be nice.”

Humming in contempt Lux finally peered at the Joker, smiling sadly.

“I’m not sure what your situation is, but I think you’d be better off with a different family than the one most people want. I know I would. I couldn’t stand to be stuck in such a boring life.” Lux smiled.

The Joker laughed, hands twitching in his lap.

“You got a point there, kid.” Joker hummed. “You know, you’re not too bad. I thought you’d be a boring little shit, but actually this is kind of nice.”

“Don’t you ever say _nice_ again.” Lux hissed, getting another surprised laugh out of the Joker. “Such a terrible word.”

A loud crash boomed behind the boys, disrupting their little chat. Joker was on his feet and swirling around to see five men burst through a door and onto the roof. In his peripheral vision Joker watched as Lux tried and failed to get to his feet three times.

“Found him, top of building-”

“It’s the Joker!”

“Listen.” Jared, a guard, stepped forward, hands in the air. “We’re here for the boy, not you.”

“Really now?” Joker mused.

The entire situation flipped on his head the moment all the men noticed the Joker. Fear blazed through the men’s eyes, causing a thrill to run up the Joker’s spine.

“He’s ran away, a-and needed back immediately.” Jared stuttered.

Swiftly the Joker drew his gun, waving it around in the air before pointing it toward Lux who was on his knees, glaring daggers at Jared. Lux didn’t bat a lash, completely ignoring the Joker to stare at the men.

“Dead, or alive?” Joker laughed, watching the men freeze.

Jared looked toward his men, shrugging.

“Either way?” Jared answered.

“Wrong choice!” The Joker laughed, turning his gun towards the men.

He shot six times before scooping Lux in his hands and laughing manically as he ran away.

 


	6. Never stop being who you are. Because who you are, deep inside, is a massive dick.

 

Batman was having a normal enough night. Even after Robin told him about what the Joker did, throwing a gun at Batgirl before running away, Batman was pretty happy with his night. His plan to ignore the Joker was working and he wasn’t about to stop anytime soon. Just as he finished tying up the last of some robbers Robin pipped into the radio.

_‘Ummm Batman? We have a problem.’_

Sighing Batman stretched, popping his back.

“What is it?” Batman grunted.

_‘So, you’re not going to believe this, but Joker is running across roof tops laughing all crazy as men in black suites are shooting him.’_

“You’re point?” Batman hissed.

_‘Well… he’s carrying a kid and he almost dropped him off the side of the roof a few times…’_

Silence.

“There I go.” Batman growled.

 

.               .               .

 

Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy were cuddling by a fire in Ivy’s newest apartment. They were happy and Ivy was glad Harley was back with her once again and away from the Joker. Ivy could tell something had happened between the two of them again, and she was more than relieved to have her back at her side, safe. With a small kiss to her cheek Ivy got up to make hot chocolate, humming blissfully, eyes happening to glance out her kitchen window.

Joker was dancing near the edge of a building on the other side of her apartment, laughing, and dancing near the edge of the roof. Ivy didn’t realize she was gone more than a few minutes as Harley came up behind her, hands wrapping around her waist. Ivy’s mouth hung open as he noticed the Joker was carrying something, or someone, small.

“Ivy?” Harley asked in worry.

Ivy said nothing so Harley glanced to what she was staring at. Joker was now ducking and dodging bullets, crackling like a hyena. Harley’s hands dropped from Ivy’s waist, mouth falling open in shock. Two seconds later Harley was out the door, leaving Ivy staring at the Joker as he disappeared into another roof top.

 

.               .               .

 

“I think I’m going to be sick.” Lux groaned, hands wrapping tighter around the Joker’s neck.

“Puke on me and I’m dropping you off this rooftop.” Joker hissed.

Joker was having the time of his life running away from the unknown men. The Joker was holding Lux the best he could while giving chase, hopping from rooftop to rooftop with ease.

“You smell good.” Lux hummed, burring his face deeper into Joker’s neck. “Like gun powder and mint.”

“I think I’m a bit too old for you kid, but compliments are welcome.” Joker laughed, finally seeming to lose a few more men.

“Shutupyoujerkface.” Lux mumbled. “I’mnothittingonyou.”

“What was that? You love me you say, awh, how sweet.” Joker giggled. “I think this counts as bonding time right?”

“Yeah, bonding time. Does that mean you’ll adopt me?” Lux joked. Luckily the Joker was too busy to tell that Lux’s tone was hopeful.

Running out of ammo Joker shot off the last of his bullets before hiding behind another cooling vent, throwing his gun to distract the men.

“Shhhh.” The Joker giggled, curling around Lux to make his body smaller.

Joker was enjoying the warmth Lux provided that cold night. He would never tell anyone this but he liked the hug, and the tighter Lux held on the more Joker felt warm and gooey inside.

“So how come you didn’t shoot me earlier?” Lux asked once the Joker began to move again.

“Meh, this is more fun.” Joker hummed. “And you’re more fun alive than dead _at the moment_.”

Joker could feel Lux smile, hands wrapping even tighter, if that was even possible, around his neck.

“Now enough of the mushy stuff! Onward!” Joker boomed, laughing as he jumped across another roof.

Lux managed to laugh, even if it was soft as the Joker carried onward. All around them was silence and the Joker sighed in defeat, realizing he had finally lost the men. A bit disappointed Joker stopped to stretch, pausing in the center of the roof. Joker was almost suspicious that it was too quiet, but as he lifted his hands it was too late to assume otherwise as something rammed into the Joker, knocking out his air.

Lux was tossed toward a small wall where the door to the roof sat, crying out in pain as he hit his back on the floor. He rolled harshly, hissing as he tried to fight off the sudden wave of dizziness. Lux was running a fever, which would explain why the Joker felt a bit warm holding him. Lux sat up, kicking his feet out as he slammed his back into the wall, eyes darting back and forth, trying to see.

Everything around him was blurry, and unable to focus Lux tried to find the Joker but all he could see was some red blob moving toward him and an even bigger black blog further back. Where the big black blog stood, Lux could hear the Joker coughing between laughing, but not his usually spirited laugh. He sounded annoyed. Soon the red blob was close to Lux, making his heart race. Grabbing the knife he stashed in his jeans Lux hissed, swiping at the red blob in fear. Robin, thinking the kid needed help, was taken aback as a knife slashed between him and the kid.

Robin realized Batman’s mistake at throwing the kid away from the Joker. The kid was hurt, and Robin could tell he was running a fever. Looking into the kids eyes he could tell the kid was gone, too scared to think straight. Trying to think about what he should do Robin jumped when Harley seemingly appeared in thin air right next to him.

Robin readied to fight but she walked past him all the way to Batman, pushing him out of the way. Batman was about to attack when Harley grabbed the Joker by the neck, lifting him in the air.

“ _What did you do_?!” Harley yelled.

“Ow, fuck.” Joker hissed, barley gaining his breath only to be attacked by Harley.

Confused Joker looked around and spotted Harley, bird boy, and Batman. All of them were staring at him, confusion and anger coming off in waves off their bodies.

“ _WHAT DID YOU DO_?!” Harley yelled again, louder.

“Wha-I didn’t do anything!” Joker argued, trying to get away.

Joker would have been fine in this situation, more than fine now that Batman was paying attention to him, but he knew from the looks on all their faces they all assumed he had done something to Lux. Joker was trying **_not_** to get Batman to ignore him more than he already has, thank you very much.

“Lux is beaten nearly to death and you’re telling me you had **_nothing_** to do with it?!” Harley growled. She was seeing red.

Batman noted that Harley seemed to know the kid, jotting down Lux into his mind as he stared unhappily toward the Joker. The whole situation was turning into another Jason Todd and Batman was livid.

“Ughh, Batman? I think we have a problem.” Robin pipped in, pointing towards Lux.

Lux was beginning to hyperventilate, gripping his chest, still trying to spot the Joker. Lux thought he recognized one of the voices, but all he could see was blurs. His eyes darted back and forth, trying their hardest to spot a blur of green and purple. Everyone stopped to look at Lux, pausing what they were doing. Harley dropped the Joker instantly, rushing toward Lux only to nearly avoid getting gutted as Robin held her back.

“Kid, it’s me, Harley.” Harley whispered, staying where Robin held her due to the knife.

“Where is _he_?!” Lux yelled, pupils dilating.

“Son, you need to calm down.” Batman tried.

But Lux was having none of it.

“I said where is **_he_**?!” Lux yelled again. He swiped at the air with his knife, trying to keep the blurs at bay.

“Who?” Batman asked.

Joker was slowly creeping toward the group, pouting as he rubbed his neck. Batman glared at him, causing Joker to stop in his steps and look away.

“ _Joker_!” Lux panicked. “Where is he?!”

“Back here, kid.” Joker raised his hand waving it.

Lux caught the thin purple blur of Joker’s hand and frowned. Everyone turned to stare at the Joker as he smiled and waved at Lux.

“C-c-can you c-come get m-me?” Lux wavered.

“Is this kid _crazy_?! Does he even know-”

“Hush.” Batman growled at Robin. “Kid, why do you want the Joker?”

Joker frowned, glaring at Batman as he looked back towards the kid. Everyone was looking at the kid like he’d grown another head. Using the distraction Joker slipped past Batman and Harley to step into Lux’s strike zone. The knife came up, pausing inches from the Joker’s neck before Lux’s hand dropped.

“ ** _Joker_**.” Batman and Harley growled, shocking each other.

“Can you, I mean, can I, you, can you pick me up?” Lux asked hesitantly.

“You know you way a ton, right kid?” Joker laughed, kneeling down to get eye level with Lux. “Hurts my old man back.”

“I-I can just follow you, if you want?” Lux asked, trying his hardest, only to fail to take a step forward.

“What the fuck are you doing Joker?” Harley hissed. Batman was growling behind her as well.

Joker laughed before picking Lux back up. Immediately Lux wrapped his hands around the Joker’s neck, burring his face.

“Shit, you’re like a fucking furnace.” Joker hissed. “And here I thought you weren’t dying on me.”

Shaking his head Joker turned around, eyebrow raised as everyone stared at him in complete silence. Joker wanted nothing more than to laugh because each individual held a look of horror and disbelief, but Joker was sore and wanted to take a nap. Before this night it had been three days since the last time he slept and he thought now would be the perfect time to disappear and get some rest.

As tempting as it was to throw the kid at Batman and run he didn’t feel like giving up the game just yet. He liked surprising Batman. 

“Explain. Now.” Batman growled, stepping toward Joker.

Before Joker could tell him to _‘fuck off, thank you’_ Batman closed in on the child Joker held, trying to discreetly check him for injuries. Joker blushed, not prepared to have Batman’s face so close to his own, and tried to ignore how Lux tried to swat Batman away thinking it was the Joker.

“I’m fine.” Lux mumbled. “Just a headache.”

“Lying won’t do you any good kid.” Batman sighed. “I think you need to go to a hospital.”

Frowning Lux lifted his head and turned toward Batman, looking him right in the eye before saying, “How about no.” Before curling back into Joker.

This tickled Joker’s funny bone, causing him to roar in laughter as Batman frowned down at the kid. Even Robin laughed, only to try and pretend to cough as Batman glared towards him. Harley was swaying from foot to foot, worried for the kid and confused about how Misha J was treating him. Harley thought she had warned Lux not to get close to the Joker, but her words meant nothing now.

She was even confused by the fact that the Joker was holding the kid, even if he was a dick about it to begin with. The situation was too good to be true, and Harley was worried the Joker _was_ behind all this and just trying to get at Batman again.

“ ** _Joker_**.” Batman growled.

Joker tried to hide the shiver of glee that ran up his spine as Batman growled his name. To his dismay Lux gave a small laugh, telling the Joker he knew what happened. Joker almost dropped him as payback but instead looked into Batman’s eyes and frowned.

“Okay, okay, sheesh.” Joker moved, fixing his hold on Lux. “No need to be rude.”

“Yeah, no need to be rude.” Lux piped in.

Batman’s eye twitched.

“So I was having a _terrible_ night of you ignoring me,” Joker began. Batman rolled his eyes. “When low and behold! Little Luxy poo was on the same roof as me, beaten to a pulp. So, knowing me, I was like what are you doing here and sat next to the kid to have a little _chat_.”

“So your first instincts at seeing a beaten up kid is to sit and _talk_ to him?” Robin asked in disbelief.

“Hush, it’s my story time, thank you.” Joker hissed. “Anyways so we sat and chatted a bit when men in black suites came looking for him. They said they needed the boy, I asked ‘dead or alive’, and would you know it, they didn’t care. So I picked up the kid and ran. The end.”

The Joker was pleased with himself when Batman said nothing. Harley doubted that was the whole story.

“So you just picked him up and ran?” Harley asked. Joker could spot that she caught on to his lack of truth and sighed.

“Fine they asked for the kid, and I was like ‘oh really’ and pointed a gun to the kid’s head,” Harley growled as the Joker spoke. “And then I asked ‘dead or alive’ and they said ‘whatever’ so I told them ‘wrong answer’ and shot at them and picked the kid up.”

“And why’d you help the kid in the first place?” Batman finally asked.

Batman’s head was throbbing, the beginning stages of a headache. This was not how he planned to spend the rest of the night. The entire situation didn’t make sense to Batman, not the kid, and defiantly not Joker’s willingness to help him. Dread began to flow through his fingers as he eyed the kid again before looking back up at the Joker.

“I-W-we met the kid about a week ago.” Harley finally pipped in. She could feel the tension and it was making her stomach hurt. “The kid just showed up out of the blue and him and Misha J hit it off. Then he left to go and fight you and I took the kid for some ice cream before he ran away from me.”

“Ha! He likes me more!” Joker smiled, snickering happily at Harley’s pout.

“That true, kid?” Batman asked Lux.

“Yup.” Lux answered.

Batman could tell there was more than what the kid was willing to say, and it was only a matter of time before he found out. Still not trusting the whole story Batman shook his head before turning on his radio.

_‘Yes Master Bruce?’_

“Make room for two guests in the cave. And set up the kit. One of them is injured.”

_‘Right away sir.’_

Joker caught onto the situation and squealed.

“Ow, that hurt.” Lux muttered, covering his ears.

“Does this mean we get to go to the _Batcave_?!” Joker beamed. “Wait I thought you were ignoring me.”

“The kid refuses to leave your side and we can’t take him to a hospital with you tagging along. Bringing you two in seems to be the best course of action so that I can have someone better equipped take a look at the kid.” Batman said.

“I’m not going back!” Lux hissed, drawing his knife to Joker’s throat.

“Oh shush we’re not taking you to that lab. We’re going to the Batcave!” Joker exclaimed.

Everyone stood still as Lux slowly put the knife away, again. Batman was definitely getting a headache.

“The wha?”

“Batcave! Who do you think we’ve been talking to?” Joker laughed.

“All I can see is a big black blog that’s all growly and kind of mean.” Lux pouted.

Joker started another round of laughter as Batman turned to address Harley.

“I’d ask you to take me with ya’ but I have somewhere to be. I know you don’t hurt kids, or kill, but if you find out Mistah J had anything to do with this let me know, cause I don’t have a problem with the K word.” Harley said shyly.

“Hey!” The Joker yelled as Harley smiled, before turning away and leaving.

Harley could trust Batman enough to take care of the kid, and Joker, so she felt a bit better than having to deal with it herself. She knew she didn’t have the courage to face the Joker head on if need be, not right now, not with Lux’s life in his hands. But she would kill him if he did hurt the kid.

“Who was that?” Lux whispered to Joker. “Sounds familiar.”

“That was the she devil Harley Quinn.” Joker answered.

Batman didn’t need to hear what Lux had asked to know he was asking about Harley. The urge to find out what was really going on was enough to let Batman get past his current goal at ignoring the Joker in order to help a lost kid. Maybe the kid was looking for a parental figure, in all the wrong places, Batman noted.

“I’ll meet you at the cave! I came on my bike.” Robin said before dropping off the side of the building.

“I call shotgun!” Joker yelled as he followed Batman toward the edge.

“You’re holding the kid the entire ride there.” Batman hissed, making sure he had a firm grip on the both of them before swigging them towards the Batmobile.

“Eh, you’re no fun.”

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ****SIDE NOTE*****
> 
> school starts tomorrow for me so i'm ganna take a bit longer to continue this! i'm in my senior year of my B.A so it's hard work! thank you~


	7. Surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> le sigh

 

 

 

The ride the cave was low on incidents. Joker was busy talking a mile a minute before he burst into song. Lux, to Batman’s amazement, fell asleep for ten minute before jolting awake, smacking right into the Joker’s chin.

“Ow, for fucks sake!” Joker yelled, nearly shoving Lux into Batman.

Lux apologized before grabbing the Joker’s face, rubbing his chin with small hands. Batman tried with all his will power to not smile. Or laugh. After they both calmed down, Joker swatting at Lux’s hands away, Lux went back to hiding in Joker’s neck. Batman chose to glare at the road as they grew closer to the cave. The Joker was acting too…human in Bruce’s book and it was starting to do things to his head. But Bruce didn’t let the hope rise more than a few seconds in his mind before striking it down.

He knew better than to hope the Joker would change, and a kid wasn’t about to change that. Bruce was surprised he didn’t just tear the kid away from him and take Joker to Arkham. The entire situation was so fucked, but Bruce would deal with it as it came. Bruce did think about removing the child at the start. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s had to deal with a child getting a bit out of hand, but it would be the first time that a kid preferred Joker over himself.

Finally in the cave, because Batman was paranoid Joker would find his hide out if he didn’t take a million turns and blacked out the Batmobiles windows, they finally were able to get out of the car. Joker was like a kid in a candy store, fidgeting from foot to foot, trying not to drop Lux. Lux’s fever seemed to be calming down, if the way he sat peered around the room curiously was anything to go by.

“Huh.” Lux murmured as Batman walked by them to get to the medical table Alfred set up with supplies.

“Set the kid down here.” Batman grunted, motioning to the empty section to sit Lux down.

Joker did as he was told, surprisingly ignoring the sharp objects to get a better look at Lux’s face. For some reason Joker remembered Johnny’s comments the other day. So without thinking twice the Joker tried again to see what Johnny had seen, but it still wasn’t coming to him. Joker was sure the kid wasn’t from a distant relative, not that he had any, but the more the Joker stared at the kids face the more uneasy he grew. Batman thought it was strange for the Joker to suddenly go quiet so Bruce turned to see him staring intently at Lux’s face.

It was oddly enduring to witness, Bruce thought as he tried to gage what could have possibly caught the Joker’s attention. Joker’s brain was fried from lack of sleep so he assumed that was the reason why Lux’s eyes reminded him of his when he was younger. Lux, who was oblivious to the entire situation, was so focused on trying not to pass out when someone coughed loudly behind Batman, causing the three to jump. Batman looked to Alfred with a bit of guilt while the Joker smiled and waved. Lux didn’t turn to look because he was too busy looking down at Joker’s gloves.

Lux liked them and how they hugged the Joker’s hands like silk. Alfred, who was expecting the Joker after Bruce hinted the information to him while Joker was busy singing, wasn’t prepared to see a child amongst the group. Robin had appeared from a back room, cape missing, eyes tired as he quickly walked to catch up to Alfred. Alfred was wearing a blank white mask at Bruce’s request.

“Aye! It’s butler boy!” Joker laughed, ignoring Lux as he messed with his hands.

Alfred said nothing and walked up to Bruce, making sure to keep the Joker in his sight.

“Sir, there seems to be a child near the Joker.” Alfred stated.

“Yeah, about that-”

“Why the mask butler man? Scared I might figure out Batsy secret identity?” Joker giggled, finally taking his hands away from Lux.

Everyone in that room already knew the Joker knew Batman’s identity. It happened a few months ago, to Bruce’s distaste. He received a jarred heart with a letter saying ‘Miss you Batsy~’. Batman had chased the Joker down, beating him until he gave up all the information he had on Bruce. The clown had escaped that night, but Bruce was sure he wouldn’t mess with his ‘fake life’. That was when Bruce realized the Joker had no interest in his real identity. It took months for the rest of the bat family to realize that the Joker wasn’t going to come and out them all.

“I think it’s because of me.” Lux whispered to the Joker.

Joker looked at Lux, hand going to his chin in thought. Whatever Lux had told the Joker Bruce saw him nod in agreement before turning back to look at Alfred with a raised brow.

“They’re a two for one.” Robin piped in, frowning at Lux.

Robin was still trying to understand the entire situation, but neither him nor Batman had any idea on how to explain it. Alfred shook his head, looking over at the child. His hair was mint green, and Alfred noted it was natural. Not a single stray color of browns or blacks to tell him otherwise. Batman, tired of the awkwardness, sighed before walking up to Lux and the Joker. He had a pair of handcuffs sitting between his fingers.

Before the Joker could protest Batman quickly grabbed the Joker’s hands and placed the cuffs on him. Lux heard the clicking of metal and flinched away from the both of them, eyes widening in fear. Like this had happened a million times Batman pulled the Joker away from Lux as Alfred stepped in, finally able to look Lux in the face.

“Do not worry sir, Batman is simply keeping the Joker away from us while I work.” Alfred said calmly.

That seemed to be a good enough answer for Lux who was looking at the man like he was an enemy. Alfred, ready to see some poor kid’s fearful face, nearly chocked when he looked at the boy’s features. The first thing Alfred noted was the kid’s eyes. Even though they were bruising and beginning to swell Alfred could spot those eyes anywhere. They were the Joker’s.

Alfred’s chest grew tight at the possibility of the Joker having had this child, raising him to be just like him. The child was certainly attached to the Joker, which wasn’t a good sign in Alfred’s book. There were other things as well. His lips, though a bit fuller than the Joker’s, were similar in shape. His ears even looked similar to the Joker’s. But beyond that Alfred’s mind felt like it aged 10 year. The boy’s face, the shape of it to be exact, was exactly like master Damian’s, Bruce’s son. Along with the shape was the boy’s hair and eyebrows. Alfred wasn’t sure what to think anymore.

“I-Is something wrong?” Lux asked hesitantly. He was already growing nervous being away from the Joker, but the man, whose face Lux couldn’t even see, stared at him in silence.

Lux would get mad at himself later for being so weak around these men, but he was in too much pain to care. He knew he was acting strange, and that was probably the only reason the Joker was letting him do as he pleases. Lux wasn’t stupid, he could tell from the tones of the voices around him that he was causing friction between them. Lux noted that the Joker was probably having a blast with the entire situation, especially if he was getting a reaction out of Batman.

Lux eyed Alfred with unease. The man was still staring at him, and Lux guessed it was either with distaste or puzzlement. He wasn’t sure what would cause such a thing, but Lux hoped it wasn’t what he thought it was. Curling into himself Lux hissed as his chest burned. His ribs were broken, he was sure, and his head was killing him. Taking small, even breaths Lux waited on Alfred to begin.

Alfred, after coming to the realization that he was making the young boy uncomfortable, cleared his throat and gently laid his hands on the boy’s shoulder.

“I’m going to need to remove the shirt, is that okay?” Alfred asked hesitantly.

“I-is it okay if I do it?” Lux asked, eyeing Alfred like he was going to ignore his request.

“I don’t see why not.” Alfred nodded.

Lux, taking his cue, began to unbutton his shirt. It was a slow and painful process to watch. Batman and the Joker were silent for once, eyes watching as pale skin showed, seeing blooms of purples bruise spread across the young boy’s body.  Lux was a bit self-conscious but he instead placed his attention to his shirt instead. With careful movements Lux folded his shirt, not wanting Alfred to touch it, and attempted to make it look as neat as possible. This shocked Alfred. The boy, instead of worrying about his wounds, was worried about how his shirt looked.

Lux’s body protested as he turned slightly to the left and placed his folded shirt I the corner of small metal table. The blood stains and tares were like beacons of harm that Lux wished stayed hidden. Turning back to face Alfred, warry that he was going to hurt him, but trusting enough to know that Joker was near, even if he was handcuffed, was enough to settle the bile rising up his throat. Alfred waited for the boy, eyeing his actions with a raised, hidden eyebrow. His actions reminded Alfred of a young master Bruce when he was young, wanting to keep his room and belonging clean and organized. It was sad to see such a thing coming from a boy bloody and beaten nearly to death.

“Now I’m going begin to check your wounds, do you understand?” Alfred asked.

Lux could do nothing but nod, head snapping to the side in a pose of pride. At the same moment the quiet of the cave was starting to get to Robin. Batman and Joker were staring from their spot to the side of Lux, watching Alfred begin to work, eyes narrowed. Robin noted that Joker’s head was cocked to the side, eyes gleaming with something akin to worry, but not quite. Batman’s mouth was formed in a permanent frown, jaw strung so tight that Robin could swear he could hear the creak of his teeth from where he stood. Their banter was silent, their words no existent, and Robin, getting the chills from the weird vibe, walked up to Alfred.

Lux snapped his eyes towards him with a fiery warning, causing Robin to pause. He hesitated only a minute before rolling his eyes, hands on his hips as he observed Alfred like the rest. Alfred was holding his breath. The wounds on the boy worried him that he might have internal bleeding. Alfred noted broken rips, sprained wrists, ankles and a fractured hip bone. It made him cringe to think what Lux was actually feeling, because wounds like these made men fall.

“What happened to you?” Alfred whispered, finally preparing to tend to the visible wounds. He’d have to set Lux’s shoulder and ribs, now that he could see all his wounds.

“Well…” Lux hissed, flinching from the anesthetic gracing his wounds with a bright burn. “I ran into a wall.”

“A wall?” Alfred huffed.

“Yeah, a wall. A few times. And a floor. You’d be amazed how far someone can throw me. You know that saying only trust em’ as far as you can throw them? Well I can fly.” Lux giggled.

Joker, caught off guard yet again by the boy, busted out laughing. Batman smacked him in the back of the head, gaining a hiss of displeasure as Lux smiled small at Alfred. Lux liked the mask Alfred wore. It fit the attitude he was receiving.

“So you got beat up? Lame.” Robin huffed. Lux, not excepting the comment, smiled wickedly at Robin.

“Robin.” Alfred barked angrily.

“Yeah, got thrown around by some men. It was fun. You should try it sometime.” Lux laughed. “I could even have it arranged, if you want.”

Lux laughed at the growl he received from Robin, only to suddenly stop, and hold his stomach. He began to have trouble breathing, hands gripping the side of the metal table, nails creaking against the sides. His knuckles turned white, pupils dilating.

Alfred went to the boy quickly, forcing his head up.

“Robin lift his arms.” Alfred barked. Robin followed the instructions, eyes wide as blood began to trickle down Lux’s chin.

“This is going to hurt.” Alfred said before setting Lux’s shoulder.

Lux wanted to say something like, ‘that tickled, you old prick’, but couldn’t as the pain caused him to black out for a few seconds. Joker, who was watching with curiosity, stood at the sound of Lux’s bone popping into place. The flash of pain that flashed over Lux’s face caused the Joker to take a step forward. Batman, who was busy watching Lux and the Joker’s reactions, didn’t know what to think as the Joker took that step forward.   
Batman was sure the Joker was just doing this to get to him, to make him believe he cared for the boy, and as much as he wished it were true Bruce wanted to know what was ‘really’ going through his head. Oblivious to being watched Joker was amazed that this kid, this strange, green haired thing, was still conscious, breathing, alive. Joker’s heart gave a painful tug as he watched the pain continue to flow through Lux, unsure where the feeling came from.

Joker was doing this as a joke, as a way to get to Batman. He didn’t’ really care for the kid, or at least, he didn’t think he did. It wasn’t right for him to care. It wasn’t right for him to be here. He shouldn’t’ be _here_. He just happened to find the kid earlier that night. He wasn’t meant to be here. Joker’s mind was slowly starting to panic at the realization that he was feeling worried. Or something close enough that it scared him and made him angry.

He wasn’t supposed to feel anything. He wasn’t supposed to be this…feely. Joker wanted to make Batman second guess his actions, his life, his roles, but he didn’t sign up to worry about another person. Joker knew that’s what Batman wanted, for him to care, for him to feel something beyond his destruction, himself, but Joker didn’t sign up to _care_ , not for a kid, not for someone like _this_.

Joker suddenly realized that he didn’t like Lux so much right now. It wasn’t that he wasn’t _funny_ , or entertaining, but more of the fact that’s he’d _leave_. He’d leave him like they always did. And if the Joker wasn’t so busy having his breakdown he would have realized Lux was watching him almost as if he knew he was being rejected.

 


	8. Well then..

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> le sigh idk. Im sorry for letting this take so long, nothing has changed other than how i go about writing LOL

 

 

 

“-our parents?”

“Whaa?” Lux slurred. Some of the pain killers Alfred gave him, much to his distaste, started to make him slow. He was too distracted by the look Joker was giving him moments before to feel the needle enter his skin, fluids flowing through his veins. He cursed his ability of being hyperaware, it was making him want slit his wrists just to stop the fluids from crawling up his arm.

“I said, where are your parents?” Damian asked with a sigh. Alfred told him to keep the boy awake as he finished dressing his wounds, much to his displeasure. All Damian wanted to do was sleep.

“N-no parents. Test tube baby. Boring story, not much appreciated.” Lux slurred.

Batman was standing, arms crossed, as Joker was crouched down, hands straining against the cuffs, glaring harshly at the ground. A storm was raging inside Joker’s mind, conflicting thoughts bouncing back and forth between himself and the kid. He should just kill him the next chance he gets, Joker hissed. But then again, isn’t this his only in with Batman? Batman on the other hand was notating all the things Lux was saying, making sure to look into these accusations before he slept that night, that was if he even slept at all. Today was not a good day, for any of the men.

“Are they the ones that did this to you?” Damian drawled.

“No, well yes? Jared likes to pick on me, I think he likes to touch me a bit too much, if Ima be honest.” Lux sighed. “The voices in the sky told him to ‘punish’ me, and so I was beaten. Cause they said they wanted to see if pain tolerance was genetic.” Lux clicked his tongue at the c, swaying a bit as he numbed out from the meds.

“It’s not, by the way.” Lux giggled. He finally looked over at Damian, head falling to the side curiously because the boy, for once, didn’t look so hot. His skin seemed a shade too light, on top of a thin layer of sweat beginning to form across his brow.

“Is that a…normal thing they do to you?” Alfred asked through gritted teeth.

“Oh, yeah, all da time.” Lux huffed. “They say it’s cause of my parents that I-”

Lux paused, unsure if he was giving out too much information. It was too late though, Lux noted, because that peaked the interest of everyone in the room.

“I thought you said you have no parents.” Damian mocked.

“I said I was a test tube baby. If you count men in the sky raising me as parents, then, well, they’re my parents ha..hahh?” Lux tried to avoid.

“You just said-” Damian started to yell.

“Damian that’s enough.” Batman hissed but was ignored.

“-that it’s cause of your _parents_ , like you know who they are.” Damian was right in Lux’s face, eyes glaring.

“I can’t help the way they _talked_ to me!” Lux yelled back. The snarl on his face got Alfred to step back, recognizing the building of anger in the boy’s eyes. “They blamed everything they did to me on my _parents_! If I reacted a certain way they’d make sure to do it again, only _worse_. They made my life a living hell but that’s all I **KNEW**!”

Lux was on his feet, knife in his hand, Damian stepping back because he had none of his weapons on him at the moment. Batman saw this and went to snatch the weapon from Lux, only to have him tuck and roll, causing Alfred to yell because he was damaging himself, again. Joker stood in the back at a loss, unsure of how to handle a kid. He could see that the kid’s sanity was slipping, something he was all too familiar with, and all heat he had towards the kid earlier was gone. It replaced itself with curiosity, and it must have been evident on his face by the way the butler hissed, moving even further away from him and towards Batman.

“You’re all the same!” Lux hissed, started to hyperventilate, **_again_**. “Asking question after question, never happy on how I answer. I tell the truth, I get punished. I lie, I get questioned even more until I can’t take it anymore and I try to shut it all off.”

Joker was watching him, head tilted to the side. The kid’s eyes were moving about, and something caused Joker to pause. He sometimes had moments where he was over stimulated, causing him to act out against his will. And by act out he usually would laugh and laugh, even as he was getting pounded and beaten into the ground by Batman. Earlier, when Joker was in his own personal turmoil, he concluded that this kid, even though he wasn’t his, must have been through something _similar_ to what he’s been through. The hair, the attitude, none of it was sane, and the more the kid talked, the more he observed him, the more Joker realized that, even if the kid wasn’t _his_ , he sure as hell had taken a bath in some nice chemicals Joker knows by heart. _Must be why I like him so much_ , Joker hummed, slowly inching his way closer to the group. To test a part of his theory Joker tapped his fingers against the metal of his hands, watching as Lux’s eyes snapped his way, eyes looking towards his hands then back to Batman, hands shaking as he gripped the knife with an unveiling force. _Gatta love that overstimulation_ , Joker huffed out a laugh, not gaining any attention for it. Frowning at being ignored Joker couldn’t help but ponder the thought of getting close to the kid. It’s not like he couldn’t _kill_ him, if need be, but aside from trying to get into Batman’s head, Joker wanted to test himself. And by test himself he wanted to see if he could actually care about something outside of himself or Batman. It went against everything he was, but he was curious, and his curiosity was his enemy. It made him do things no man ever should, but then again, he wondered if he could test this theory without Batman around. As much as it tickled his mind to think about going through some ‘self-discovery’ and having Batman fall into his game, he didn’t like that if he really did like the kid that Batman would use this against him, making him do things he didn’t want to do. So instead Joker formed a plan to have him and the boy escape, and go from there. If all else failed Joker would get beaten for killing another kid, and he’d get over the whole ordeal faster than anyone else, but he needed to know if this kid could, or would, stay by his side even after things didn’t end up well. He also wanted to see how Batman would take it knowing that he had another child under his _ungodly_ care.

“Kid…Lux, you need to calm down.” Batman tried. Damian was feeling guilty at this point, not meaning to send this kid, this sheltered kid who reminded him of himself a year ago, into some kind of mind frenzy.

“You’re only after my blood, huh?” Lux growled, having none of it. He was tired, he didn’t want to be here, he couldn’t focus, and the meds made him feel weak. He didn’t like feeling _weak_.

“No we were just trying to help-”

“So, what? You were just going to ignore where I came from?” Lux growled. “You were ganna let me sleep, let me stay with the Joker-”

Panic and doubt flashed across multiple eyes, he knew he’d caught their train of thought. Smiling wickedly Lux continued.

“Oh, that’s what it is, isn’t it? Keep the Joker around me to calm me then make me sleep so you can collect DNA, take Joker back to Arkham, then deal with me when I wake up?” Lux’s pupils where flashing from large to small, making Alfred shake with worry. He could tell the kid was falling into a panic attack and the medication he administered wasn’t working, actually it was doing something else entirely. Everyone was shocked that he caught onto the plan this quickly.

“Then while I slept you were ganna check to see if my statements are real,” Lux caught the guilty look cross Batman’s face. “Run my _DNA_ across all the data profiles of every person you have on file, see who my ‘real parents’ are. Then when I wake up question me, ask if I know who they are, where they are. Lock me up, probably once you see who one of them is.”

Lux continued to glace at the small ding coming from the Joker’s direction. His eyes never stayed long enough to cause alarm, but Joker knew he was getting somewhere. A calculating look was turning Lux’s panicked face into a learning one. Lux, still not catching on, was dealing moral blows Joker envied. The kid was a quick learner, and if by the other’s reaction, Joker was trying not to give himself away as he bit the inside of his cheek from laughing.

“If I didn’t answer you would make me feel guilty, make me regret how I was, try to find some morals that would get you more answers. Then you’d leave me alone, do whatever it is that you do to people like where I’m from, then you’d…” Lux finally stopped, a frown falling onto his face. Joker took this moment to appear concerning, hands lowered as he approached Lux quickly. No one expected it, which the Joker thought was perfect timing, and as Lux raised his shaking hands to swipe at the Joker, Joker clicked the metal on his hands, causing Lux to pause. Quickly, before anyone could really see what was happening, Joker grabbed the knife, hand swiping forward fluidly, gripping the knife and bringing it to Lux’s neck, whispering ominously, “follow along, we gatta get outta here.”

Lux was not a stupid child, actually he was far from it, but it took him a moment with a knife pressed against his neck to ‘get’ what was going on. Before anyone could get a read on his face Lux made himself panic, hands clawing at Joker’s hands, a sound of fear escaping his lips.

“W-what are you doing?” Lux faked, eyes looking up to Joker than to Batman.

“This was _fun_ , but I think it’s about time I take my leave.” Joker laughed, dancing away with Lux dragging his feet, fighting him. Joker hummed proudly when he saw Lux fake scratch at his skin, leaving nothing but irritated red lines. Joker knew at this point the kid could be doing more damage, knowing that if his theories were correct, he was in a hell of a pain due to the morphine wearing off faster than a busted pipe, but the lack of blood meant one thing to Joker, he caught on to his game and was playing along beautifully. “I have some things to take care of, and darling, now, don’t look at me that way..” Joker pouted once he saw the fierce flow of rage and agony bloom across Batman’s face. “But I did this all so I could mess with your heads-” Damian, Lux, and Alfred hissed.  Batman’s face paled. “-and it was fun, until it _wasn’t_. Now I do have some things to do, really, and I’d like to take Lux boy here, so you won’t follow me, cause if you do I’ll know, and boy, wouldn’t he just look **_beautiful_** in a nice pool of _red_.” Joker glanced at the boy, nearly missing the flash of contempt at his notion, before he started to frown, eyes watering.

“I-I-I don’t get it, y-you helped me…you saved me…” Lux cried out as Joker manhandled them towards a motor bike. He was crying almost at full force now, and even Joker nearly paused, but the only thing keeping him going was the way Lux looked more at Batman and the other’s than himself.

“Hush now, Joker dearest is busy talking with the adults.” Joker laughed.

“Joker!” Batman yelled, seeming to snap out of whatever trance or denial he seemed to be in and was now running towards them.

“Ah, ah, ahhhhh~” Joker sang, pushing down on the kid’s throat. He drew a little blood, a necessary evil in Joker’s eyes, and he got a real reaction out of Lux, who cried out, hissing and digging his nails _hard_ into Joker, not happy with the turn of events. He didn’t do much but annoy the Joker, since he had years of pain tolerance ahead of the kid, but he still laughed, knowing it was what he deserved at the moment. Batman stopped running, as did Damian and Alfred, who had gathered some weapons from the whole exchange. But they knew Joker was too unpredictable, they knew he would gut the kid, and Batman, nor Alfred, could not afford another Jason Todd.

“Now I’m going to, ahha, _borrow_ this.” Joker hissed, settling them harshly on top of a small motor cycle, probably Robin’s, Joker noted, and laughed when Lux cried out in pain. “And we’re going to _go_. Now if you’d like to find the kid, _alive_ , later, then I’d say you don’t follow me right away, because we all know, that’d I’d **_know_**. And we wouldn’t want that, now, would we.”

If that wasn’t ominous and terrifying all at once Alfred would have stood proud next to Bruce, but he and master Damian shrank away as Batman stood tall. Batman, all of them honestly, felt foolish to think that Joker would somehow _help_ a situation like this. The kid was right, they would have done what they needed to in order to keep him, to keep them **_all_** _,_ safe, but his life was not worth the price it would cost to follow them right now. Batman would have _separated_ them, he would have put Joker away, he would have questioned the kid, maybe not as harshly like he assumed, but it wouldn’t have been an enjoyable time, and that in itself was _interesting_ and sad for a small child to catch onto. Batman still felt that something was off, but he couldn’t deny the _fear_ the child felt. He knew something changed, he just didn’t know when it had happened. Maybe from when they captured them till now. Maybe Batman should have been more cautious from the beginning, because the kid seemed to just **_adore_** the Joker, but now he screamed nothing but **betrayal**. Batman should have seen this coming, should have known, but he just…he just wanted Joker to be _human_ for once.

It was something to watch them speed down the mountain side. The cold splash of the waterfall should have caused Lux to go into shock, but there was nothing they could do at the moment. They were all acuity aware of how following the Joker the first fifteen minutes would certainly kill Lux, but Batman didn’t like this. Something still didn’t feel right. He was missing something, something important. Batman wished he was the one to have found the kid that night, cold, alone, on that rooftop. He hasn’t been able to talk to the kid, but he was something else. He wondered if he’s shared the same fate as the Joker, or Harley. He wondered why his hair was green, eyes a purple blue, but he wasn’t one to concern himself with looks. What he needed now was to make sure he got Lux back here safely, got him to _understand_ what he needed to do. He loved kids, he trusted them never to lie to him, and even if they did, he knew it was for their own protections. He was still unsure as to how this all came to be, well actually he knew this was mostly his own fault. He fell into the Joker’s charm, just like he always did, and he hated himself for it. He had another child’s life in his hand now, and he planned to save him, even if it **_killed_** him, and the **_Joker_** , this time around..

 

 

 

 


	9. Rude Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My babu is so young, let's see where the road take him, shall we?

 

 

“That fucking _hurt_.” Lux hissed, hand smacking away the knife **_hard_** so that he could rub his shaking hands lightly across the wound on his neck. They had gotten about 60 miles before Joker noticed that Batman should be following them by now. Lux was pouting, a bit because he had made himself cry like he was being **murdered** , and another part of him because he was in a of hell of **_pain_**.

“It was supposed to, now hush, I’m trying to get us away from being caught so soon.” Joker was tired, and the kid was putting his full weight on him, making it hard to focus.

“Why not grab someone to drive this thing for you? I still need medical attention, obviously, and I know you’d rather see me dead, but I need some help or I’m ganna pass out again.” Lux murmured. He was a bit pissed at another wound making its way onto his body so early after his freedom, but Lux let himself forget as he cuddled up to Joker.

“That...” Joker paused, looking down at the boy who was relaxing against his chest. “Isn’t a bad idea. I have a spot, probably give the same meds for you.” Joker hummed.

He had a few places where he laid low. A few places that helped him when he was hurt. If they kept quiet, he left them alone.

“If I die make me into a nice sandwich yeah?” Lux quoted, not really hearing the Joker anymore. “N’ give me to Batman. I’m sure that I’d, and probably you, would find it funny. See him eat a kid. He’d probably puke.” Lux barked a harsh and painful laugh.

“I didn’t think you’d be into cannibalism?” Joker hummed. The more the kid talked the more he wanted to learn. He had an interesting mind, and even if it wasn’t what he wanted, if it wasn’t Batman’s mind, it was just enough to make him smile.

“Pft, I wouldn’t care, I’d be dead.” Lux huffed. “I’d rather you help me live, you know, and I’ll like, give you a dollar, or help in a few things, if you wanted to-” Joker quirked an eyebrow. “-like Batman, or I don’t know, your own sanity.”

Joker growled, moving forward to squish Lux against the metal frame of the bike bitterly.

“Or, or, or!” Lux groaned and laughed. “I’ll just stay quiet and clean. I don’t’ know what you’re into.”

“Is this the pain, or overstimulation talking?” Joker barked, leaning back to eye a few passers with earnest. He hated that the kid got to a few clever ideas before him, but he kind of liked the way that the kid shook off the death threats. Harley usually made him cringe until he had to drop her somewhere before he killed her, and he really didn’t like the idea of Ivy coming for him.

“Hmm.” Lux quieted down. Joker wondered if this was the first time someone asked him, and he was a bit curious as to why the kid hadn’t caught on that he recognized he suffered from overstimulation too. As if he could read that thought Lux’s eyes widened, shifting up to Joker, ready to bite back some kind of remark, but instead his eyes snapped to a young man, around 20, swaying their way, intoxicated.

“I’ll answer once we’re away from this damn bike.” Lux muttered, eyes fixated on this one guy. Joker wanted to protest but Lux continued. “Only because I don’t know who could be listening here.” And if that wasn’t a reasonable thought, Joker didn’t know what else was. Smirking he grabbed the drunk man, hand sliding the knife he held not that long ago onto Lux’s throat to whisper threats into this man so fast that he was on the bike and out of their hair before the light turned green.

 

*    *     *     *     *     *

 

A man in his late 40s opened his small, shabby medical room with wide, frightened eyes to peer up and down at Joker and a new…guest, he presumed, ushering them into the small clinic with worry. He wanted to ask questions, oh how badly he wished to force the Joker to tell him what was going on, but the kid was swaying, he was gagging, he was _suffering_ , and Mike couldn’t get himself to bother. He helped the kid, this new, this very _young_ , child up into a small, dim lit room and onto a table with ease. Joker was right beside them, not uttering a word, eyes smiling as he worked on figuring out what was going on. He tried, and when the kid started talking, he felt…sad for some reason. He felt sad at the thought that this kid was under Joker’s charm, just like he was, and instead he forced himself to calm down and just _listen_.

“You remind me of someone.” Lux huffed. His fever was high, Joker could see it, _feel_ it, but he sat calmly down behind the doctor and lifted his hands above his head.

“Oh?” Mike muttered. “Why is that?”

“You’re scared.” Lux stated, and Mike chose not to comment, hearing that same phrase before with the Joker. Instead he continued to fix the kid’s body.

“So nice, so polite, almost like you don’t _want_ to be here, yet you can’t _help_ it.” Lux mused. “Probably have a wife, or a child. Too scared to act out against anything that could cause them harm. Too smart to know that Batman wouldn’t save your family, if it came to that.”

“Oh?” Mike hummed. He was passed that. He knew what came from betraying the Joker, yet he chose not to. He might be suffering from curiosity, but he knew what the Joker needed, how to help him, and if the Joker ever chose to replace him, he’d deal with it when it came, until then, he adapted.

“I’d say that you’re doing all this so as to not to die, yes?” Lux was in a mindset. He was feeling everything, yet he didn’t want to disturb what was rippling around him. “Sorry doc, not all there sometimes.” Lux laughed, punching his head. It wasn’t soft, and Mike had to put his hand in-between the punches to stop Lux from hurting himself. He stayed quiet, and instead gave him something he usually gave to Joker. He could tell the kid had some kind of tolerance, and being who he was he wanted to make sure the kid calmed down. He could also sense a conversation just waiting to happen, after he was gone. He felt it and…he wanted to stay to find out, but knowing his place he continued to fix up Lux without a pout.

“I like you doc, but if I was you, I’d walk away, **_now_**.” Lux hissed. Mike, with all his pride and morals, felt his spine stiffen. Without even second guessing what was happening he turned and walked away, not before he planted a syringe of morphine beside Lux’s lap and walked straight out of the door. Joker was amused. He couldn’t think of as to why, but when Lux suddenly wrapped his hands around his own body he understood. Lux wanted to _kill_ the man.

  Darting his hands from his body to the syringe Lux slammed the needled into his leg, sighing in relief. Lux stood then, and walked back and forth from the table to the wall, muttering nonsense, hands shaking. Joker let this go on for a good thirty minutes before standing, since he couldn’t pick up on anything the kid was saying, and leaned against the table, leg poking out to try and trip the kid.  Lux didn’t fall for it, but instead he jumped over the stump and glared up at Joker with heat. Joker mused it was about time they finally _talked_.

“You _know_.” Lux hissed. His hands clawed at his skin, over his shirt thankfully, and Joker wanted to tie the boy down, for some reason.

“What I know is that you’ve taken a nice bath in some chemicals that I know by heart.” Joker chose to answer. He could have lied, but he found this more interesting.

“Don’t l-wait…the chemicals?” Lux frowned.

“Eleven percent sodium hydroxide, thirty-four percent sulfuric acid, five percent chromium solution, zinc sulfide, doped with copper, which gives it its green glow.” Joker quoted from memory.

“I, it, it’s….I was six months… I was six months when they mixed that in.” Lux stuttered. “I…why? Why do you care? It’s not like I’m yours.” Lux glared.

“Doesn’t matter.” Joker waved off.

Lux was scared, more than scared, for this moment. He didn’t think he would have to fight off Joker, or Batman, he wasn’t ready, not to get away, to run. Joker tapped his hands against his chin. As messed up as he was Joker didn’t think anyone would douse a child, let alone an unborn fetus, with the chemicals he loved. He was pushing it, that much Joker could see. Lux was slowly getting ready to attack, and not the fake, pigtail pulls he was pulling earlier, no this time around it would be vicious, hard, erratic. Joker smiled at the thought, almost probed further, but the kid was too close to death, and he wasn’t about to let his knew toy die on him, not this soon.

“So….so you know?” Lux laughed. “God how bad it felt.. I just. Skin,” Lux hissed. “You have such _soft_ skin. I could. It would feel so good just to.. **DIG** **IN**.” Lux  laughed. “But I need…”

From there Joker moved so fast that Lux could trick himself into thinking it was going to be a hug. Instead Lux felt his head snap, and sweet darkness took over his mind, finally letting him rest. It felt like death and Lux embraced it with open arms.

Joker smirked when he watched the kid go limp, ready to turn him around in his hands and see betrayal, but his stomach clenched at the look of contempt placed upon the kid’s face. Joker should have known he would be getting a different reaction out of this kid, but it was still not what he would expect on someone this _young_. Joker pondered what Lux thought about right before he fell into unconsciousness. He wondered if he thought it was death. Clicking his tongue with distaste, not sure where it came from, Joker proceeded to lay him on the small table. Soon he got the doctor in the room and he watched as he continued to help set bones, notate fractures, and even check his vitals. From there the doctor gave him a small infirmary of pills, bandages, and books about keeping the kid’s health up. Mike wanted to make sure that he did everything within his power to make sure the kid had a chance, and even if Joker never read any of the information he gave, hopefully the kid would. Even as a small joke he left a ‘get help’ pamphlet, which was a hint to get away from Joker, but he put a small happy face sticker on it just to be safe. Mike helped a lot of the criminals roaming this putrid underbelly of Gotham, so when he watched Joker carry the kid gently out of his office and into the streets he felt himself grow tired and blurry eyed. Turning around he closed the small door to his office, turning off the lights, and decided to head home where a bottle of rum sat in the arms of his waiting wife.

 

*    *     *     *     *     *

 

Batman was having the worst time out in the streets that night. He was hell bent on finding the kid, **_alive_** , and when more and more of Joker’s men had no idea what was going on or where he could be, he wanted to break down the walls around him. He broke into two of Joker’s old hide outs, but came up empty handed. Not even a hint, a card, _nothing_.

“Sir it’s almost day break.” Alfred sighed tiredly into his ear. It signaled that time was up, and this made Batman punched the nearby wally, repeatedly, until he forced his feet to step away and back towards his batmobile. He couldn’t even find Harley that night, which made him wonder if she was in on it the whole time, but Bruce was getting ahead of himself. He was going to find Joker, and he was going to make sure he regretted **_everything_** he had done.

 

 

 


	10. Family Bonding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crushes suck, Lux knows this, and so should you.

 

 

It seems, to Bruce’s distaste, Damian called Dick and told him what was going on, who in turn told Tim. It had been a full week and Joker and Lux all but disappeared. Batman, using what he could, was able to find out that Lux was indeed a ‘test tube’ child. From what Batman was able to attain, because it seemed the moment he even tried to touch the company, they completely _erased_ , or tried to, erase everything and anything related to Lux. Batman would have been impressed if what he was able to find wasn’t as incriminating as it was. He found tests about Lux. Nothing about his family, but Bruce was patient and would find that information out, one way or another, but he found out all the little…tests they ran. How long he could go without food, how his body reacted to poison, how long he could stay awake, and the list went on and on. He went crazy for awhile, not sleeping, unable to, and he made sure to be extra brutal when he was out as Batman. Even if it was futile, but oh how he **_tried_**.

Alfred got tired of him, as did Damian, and now here they stood, in some older movie theater, going in to watch some movie Bruce would rather die than watching, but it was for his…sons. Bruce was in his persona, the playboy, but when the crowds faded away the boys, who watched him with cation, could see he never stopped calculated, never stopped to just… **_rest_**.

“So that movie sucked.” Damian crossed his arms, standing tall, head snapped up to his left. “Too predictable, not enough fighting, and the fighting wasn’t even close to being real.”

“It’s not meant to be, well at least in this movie.” Dick laughed, elbowing Tim who just rolled his eyes.

Their banter went between the three of them, and Bruce just smiled warmly. As much as this case was causing him sleepless nights he also loved to spend time with his boys. He just wished his mind wasn’t running away as he tried to think of different ways to find the missing boy. They slowly came to the snack counter, Bruce humming when he gave a small laugh at something Dick said. Then, like clockwork, all four of the boys stiffened, each pausing and glancing at one another to see if they all recognized the laugh that clicked across the old theater tile. Following their shared look their eyes snapped to Bruce, who in return made his eyes harden. It wasn’t the Joker’s laugh, no, it was lighter, whiner, yet it was still _recognizable_.

“My dear boy, now you were able to adequately answer such simple riddles-” Bruce snapped his eyes up and towards who he knew, he **_knew_** , would be talking. “What is it that walks on four legs then two legs and finally three legs?” Bruce couldn’t believe what he was seeing. It was Riddler, in some warn, old, fading green shirt, and standing next to him was Lux. Lux looked better, healthier, warmer, and alive. **_Alive_**. Bruce felt his heart lessen. Finding the boy alive made his heart sing, he didn’t lose to the Joker, not this time, not like he had with Jason. Dick, Tim, and Damian noticed Lux as well and Damian filled them in as Bruce subconsciously walked towards them, unable to resist. Night was coming _fast_ , and Bruce wasn’t about to lose them, not again, only he paused to think as to why Riddler had the kid.

“Hmm…” Lux stood, hand at his chin. For a second Riddler looked cocky, eyes filled with mirth as he waited for Lux to answer. Riddler was recruited to watch Lux, to his annoyance, only because he owed Joker a favor, cause the old bastard solved a riddle, and Nigma was still _pissed_ about it. But Nigman had to admit, the boy was… _interesting_. He listened to him, actually _listened_ to him, and Nigma decided that a trip to the movies was the best gift he could give because no one, not even Joker, listened to him anymore.

“Do you need a hint?” Nigma laughed, cocky. He knew the kid was young, eight, but it felt nice to be smarter than someone, at least recently. The kid was no genius, at least not **yet** , and Riddler liked him. A little too much, if he was to be honest with himself. He never wanted to give hints this early on.

“Don’t you **_dare_**!” Lux growled, turning to face Nigma with blazing eyes. He was ready to tape Nigma’s mouth shut, but instead stomped his foot, turning to look at the ground, grinding his teeth together. Batman recognized the puzzle, it wasn’t too hard, he could help, but Dick’s hand locked him in place, his face turned towards the door. Bruce didn’t realize he was storming their way, and he wasn’t Batman, so there was nothing he could do, not _now_. It seems Damian was already calling the Batmobile towards them. Since the sun was setting it caused Lux to glow, and Nigma’s eyes to shine with a cunning attempt to resist saying the answer to his question.

“Is it…” Lux glanced nervously at Nigma, hands moving from his sides to his pockets. He really didn’t want to disappoint him and get this wrong. “A…baby? I mean it crawls on all fours, at least at the beginning, but if you cut off its legs it can only wiggle on two limbs! And, and, and when it grows older you can give it a crutch, then it can hobble around on three!”

Lux was turned towards Nigma as he answered, eyes gleaming with hope and worry. Nigma, against his nature, wasn’t mad. He couldn’t get mad, not when the kid looked at him like he really, _really_ wanted to impress him.

“Yes, that is correct my dear Lux.” Nigma laughed, placing a hand on Lux’s shoulder. Bruce was pulled out of the theater then, hissing as he was dragged into a neighboring alleyway. He was seething, not liking that he couldn’t do anything, nothing to save the kid, not until nightfall, not until he had that damn mask.

“Bruce we need to wait, there’s a crowd, the kid isn’t going to go anywhere, at least with Nigma, and we know he talks, a LOT, okay? Please, we’ll all help you.” Dick ushered, trying to calm the anger Bruce was feeling. Bruce made himself calm down, sighing loudly as he looked towards the sky, nighttime couldn’t come fast enough.

 

*    *     *     *     *     *

 

Nigma was talking, telling the kid about how the riddle could also mean something about life when Lux paused, pulling him into the bathrooms before the theater. He was a bit caught off guard, thinking the kid needed to piss, but when Lux’s eyes were scanning the area with fear Nigma made himself kneel, hands on Lux’s shoulders, trying to ground him. He and Joker had a little chat about the kid. Even though Nigman still thought that the Joker and Lux were related, he agreed that they did share a… bath in some similar chemicals. So Nigma was warned about Lux’s overstimulation.

“Kid what’s wrong kid?” Nigma whispered.

“I-I-I I…”Lux paused, noticing Nigma’s hands. His hands where heavy, solid, grounding. Lux felt something was off. He didn’t want to stay here long, not with what he was feeling. Nigma was patient, smiling calmly his way, and Lux didn’t want to make him _upset_. He was one of the few people Joker had introduced to him that Lux actually _liked_.

“Look I know you think I’m freaking out-” Nigma tried to argue but Lux was having none of it. “-But someone said your name earlier, and I couldn’t place who.”

Nigma froze, eyes narrowing, looking towards the bathroom door.

“So we need to leave, **_NOW_**.” Lux growled, grabbing Nigma’s willing hands, and ventured towards the bathroom window. Lux was glad there was a form of escape in this room, he was already planning to call the paparazzi once he saw Bruce Wayne by the doors. It would bring a big enough crowd that would allow them to run, to get away, but this was much better.

“Let me.” Nigma huffed after seeing Lux struggle with the window. He didn’t say anything and leaned up from behind Lux, pushing him against the wall as he opened the window. Once open they made their way outside, Nigma a bit down at having to miss the movie, but when Lux pulled them into the alleyway he just smiled and followed until he took charge, leading them all the way back to his house.  It wasn’t a long adventure, but it took enough time to where the sun set. Nigma opened his door, sighing as Lux bound in, pushing his way past him to his window, shutting the blinds. He made sure to take off his shoes first, which left Nigma smiling still, and went around the rooms, checking them as Nigma made his way into the kitchen.

He needed to make dinner, and he had to feed the kid something healthy so he made sure to pick coconut quinoa and chia porridge. He remembered the kid saying he liked red things, and that he preferred fruits over veggies. So Nigma hummed as he gathered what he needed, not bothered by Lux as he made his way around the rooms. Nigma should have worried, but the kid showed severe signs of OCD and by the way he acted, even with Joker around, he knew the kid wouldn’t touch or mess with what was his. Soon Lux was sitting on the other side of the small counter island of Nigma’s apartment, just watching him.

Lux was smitten. He didn’t think he’d find anyone so amusing and as knowledgeable as Nigma. Nigma didn’t mind that it took Lux a bit to figure out what was going on, and Lux leaned heavily on of his hands and he just watched Nigma cook. He tried not to show too much interest, but he felt like he was losing that game. As soon as Nigma realized he had an audience he began telling Lux anything he could think of. Lux, sighing in contempt, watched Nigma with heavy eyes, nodding along as he learned much more about Gotham than he ever thought he would learn. Lux noted that he was much better than this one guy who wore a pig’s mask and sang. Lux didn’t like him so much, he even tried to kill that man, much to joker’s amusement. Lux found himself meeting a lot of Gotham’s underbelly, but Nigma seemed to be his favorite so far.

“Tell me, why is it that you’re with the Joker?” Nigma hummed.

Lux was hesitant, to say the least. He also didn’t want to lie, but he couldn’t tell the truth either. Instead he looked away and towards the door, pretending to let himself look like he was hearing something that wasn’t there. Lux was thankful Nigma hadn’t caught onto his little act at avoiding certain topics. It never worked when he was with the Joker, but Lux was thankful regardless.

“I’m making something sweet, and simple.” Nigma hummed.

Lux nodded, trying not to look at him. Lux noted Nigma’s hair was orange and red, something that made Lux want to **rip** , or _coax_ , he wasn’t too sure which was which. The feelings were too similar, so he sat still. Nigma chose to turn and stare at Lux, smirking as he leaned on the counter, elbows closer to Lux than his face. He had a smirk that never seemed to drop when the kid was around, and his eyes shined with another puzzle. Lux, unable to resist, turned to Riddler and tilted his head to the side.

“When is the time of a clock like the whistle of a train?” Nigma hummed, letting the food warm behind him.

“Train…” Lux questioned. The theory behind what a train was, was there, but he never…he doesn’t know what noises they make.

“Here, let me show you something.” Nigma quieted. He had forgotten the kid lived in a lab most of his life and felt a bit bad when he asked that specific riddle, but instead of letting it drag him in the mud he pulled up a video on his phone, walking around the counter and leaned into Lux’s space. After they watched the video Nigma moved back to stir the food.

“That’s…thank you.” Lux huffed, hiding his face in embarrassment. He didn’t like not knowing things, and Nigma realized this early on. So he just helped and moved on, not letting his pity linger more than a few seconds. The child absorbed information too fast to allow him to linger in a condescending mind set for too long.

Five minutes later Lux barked out, “Two-twoooooooooooooooooo!” So loud that Nigma jumped. Lux than began to run back and forth from the counter to the door, pretending to be a train, eyes not even glancing towards Nigma, lost in his own world. Nigma huffed out a laugh, serving them both, and waited for Lux to calm down enough to eat.

Lux was trying to burn this tightness in his chest. He assumed it was the urge to gut something, so he ran it off. He was already ready to see the Joker again, and ask him all these things, but he’d probably hold back a bit cause he really, really, **REALLY** wanted to see Nigma again. Fifteen minutes later the two of them were sharing a meal. It wasn’t long before Nigma started ranting again. It continued like this for another 3 hours until Joker showed up, grabbing Lux, giving Nigma some money before they disappeared down the hall and through the stairway thanks to the broken elevator.

 

 

 


	11. Mocking Jay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quiet before the storm?? Also sorry for some of my chapters being short a f hehh

 

 

 

 

“So what do you think?” Lux laughed, twirling around the room.

It was a surprise, and Lux was shaking with excited worry at finally being able to show the Joker what he had been up to when he was left alone without some poor sap watching him. He had managed to grab what he needed, sneaking bits of clothe here and there, books about sewing from Nigma hidden somewhere in the warehouse for Joker’s men to find. They had finally made it to the base once Joker whisked him away from Eddie. Joker was angry, his grip on Lux only loosening once they were within the warehouse by the docs. He wasn’t mad at Lux, no, not this time, but he was still pissed. He was pissed about nearly getting caught, for the third time this week, by the damn Batgirl. She went on and on about him being this monster, scum, the usual. Only she seemed to know about Lux, and that didn’t sit well with Joker. Of course, he knew that the bat family would find out eventually, but this little event seemed to seep into ALL of Gotham.

Now Joker not only had Batman’s ‘children’ after him, but his enemies’ interests were piped. Sighing Joker had finally gotten a bottle of whiskey in his hands, drinking straight from the bottle as he groaned. Reluctantly he turned to see Lux twirling around the room in a whirl wind of fashion. Pausing he watched Lux with wide eyes as he bounced across the room, showing off his new outfit. It was a twin tailed shirt, purple (because Lux wanted to fit in for some unknown reason to Joker), with a vest of some sort overlaying the shirt. The back tails of the shirt stuck out from underneath the vest, almost like a bird’s tail. He was wearing shorts a bit too short, in Joker’s opinion, with a double gun holsters, each one strapping down to each of his thighs and meeting at his hips to a belt. The sleeves to the shirt were rolled up half way up his arms, and in each hand sat the new knives Joker gave Lux earlier that week. They were beautifully custom made brass knuckles with a switch to prompt hidden knives. In each holder by his thighs Joker realized twin guns sat nicely in each strap. They must have been some of the ones Joker said the kid could choose from. They had marble stained handles, with silver carved designs above the triggers. They were a gift from Harley years ago, a bit too small, but a set none the less. What drew Joker’s interest was the bright, off shade red symbol on the vest. There sat a dead mocking bird with an X  on the eye to prompt it being dead. Bellow it the letters MJ sat, the J curving into a smile looking form.

“So…what’d ya think?” Lux finally paused, hands gripping the knives as tightly as he could. When Joker said nothing Lux kept talking, not too bothered by the silence. “I was thinking about that Robin kid, and how funny it’d be to sort of ‘mock’ him. So I made this!” Lux gave another twirl, smiling harshly. “Mocking Jay, get it?”

Joker, finally snapping out of some sort of mental void, smiled wickedly at Lux.

“My dear Lux, are you trying to get yourself killed?” Joker laughed, eyes looking him up and down. He still didn’t like those shorts. “People will start to talk, say I got myself a side kick.” Joker laughed after that, a fully body laugh, shaking the walls. The men down stairs grew quiet, waiting for a gun shot, when none came they each shared a look then went back to doing what they do best, drinking.

“And then they’d think I’d gone _soft_.” Joker hissed, standing to walk over to Lux. Lux didn’t bat an eye, instead he rolled his eyes, hard, clicking the button on the knives, causing them to snap back and forth, hidden, not.

“Or they’d think, _‘Oh no, not another one! Oh Art thou life such unfortunate for Joker to have yet another puppet under his command_.’” Lux mocked, finally turning and facing Joker head on. “We both know this is because of Bat-”

“Don’t.”

“Fine, but I thought it’d be funny.” Lux huffed. “You’re almost as bad as the men in the sky,-” Joker’s eye twitched. “-keeping me locked up. Why is that by the way?”

Lux stopped joking towards the end. Joker chose to ignore the question and take another swig of the liquor.

“Come on! I just want to help, well actually I want to get in on the action, but that’s beside the point.” Lux waved off. “I’m a good shot, I got them knife skills, what more do you want?”

Lux was pouting at the end. All week he’s been here, or wherever the Joker dropped him off at, and he knew it was because Batman was still looking for him. But Lux thought he’d be good enough, at least as someone who could fight, if not, maybe just something, anything at this point. The only good thing that came out of this week was Joker teaching him how to dress wounds and create bombs. That was fun. He even got all the chemicals together and let him help prepare some for later that month. There were bad days, sometimes Lux thought he was going to die at some points, even ran to the roof at one point, but here he was, standing tall. He couldn’t, for the life of him, understand what the Joker was planning. They spent a LOT of time together. Seems like both boys had trouble sleeping most of the time, and those nights were nice. Bits of sanity riddled with broken shards of insanity, it cut nicely, if not roughly against Lux’s heart.

Biting his lip Lux turned and walked to his drawer, beginning to take off pieces of his outfit. He felt like an idiot at that point, thinking ‘of course he wouldn’t use you, you idiot, your weak. You haven’t even proven to him you can handle yourself outside his care. Last time the men took you away, how is he supposed to trust you with anything now.’. Joker watched Lux, eyes calculating, analyzing, waiting. Joker was still waiting for the shoe to drop, for the kid to run, to leave, but so far he’s stood tall, even faced him head on while knowing he could die. Joker rolled his eyes as Lux slammed the brass knuckles on the counter, not even looking towards Joker to see if he was watching him.

“Those shorts are too short.” Joker bit back. “Pants, or I never want to see you wear that outfit again.”

Lux snapped around so fast Joker thought he broke something. He went to say something but stopped himself, instead letting his eyes fill with warmth, tears brimming their edges. Joker bristled, unable to hold his gaze for long. Unlike Harley Joker didn’t have to be direct with Lux, he just ‘got’ him. Making his way to the window Joker leaned on the edge, taking another drink. There was one… bad day they both shared. Lux killed one of his men, and had stabbed Johnny with a butter knife in the leg all because they were teasing him. He didn’t know better, Joker got that, but he was livid, not liking anyone, not even the kid, touching his things. They fought, teeth and nails until Joker got ahold of a gun. Lux, for the first time since being with the Joker, ran, but not towards the exits, no, the kid went up to the roof. Apparently, he had hidden a gun up there as well. So they stared each other down. Teeth bared, guns in the air, but Joker, damn his brain, he was having a moment of weakness. His senses were all over the place. His world shook, trembled, and he laughed, hard, but he kept the gun in the air, aimed at the kid. After a bit Lux’s eyes filled with worry until they filled with understanding. Joker can remember the exact moment Lux dropped his gun and walked straight towards him. Joker shot at him, warning shots right past his ears, his neck, but Lux didn’t stop until Joker had the barrel of the gun pressing against his temple. They stood there for what seemed like hours, Joker breathing through his gritted teeth until Lux reached his hand out and tugged at Joker’s bloodied shirt. They were soft, even, and timed pulls and soon Joker found himself dropping the gun to his side, gripping the kid’s hand to stop him. The moment was there, he could have killed Lux, but instead he turned around to storm back inside. Joker left Lux on the roof that night.

“So tell me, did Eddie boo bore you to dea-” Joker paused as his phone went off. Pulling it out of his pocket his stomach filled with led as a single text read: He knows I was with Lux earlier. Hissing Joker pocketed his phone before he broke it, again. Lux was on the bed then, eyeing him curiously. He was messing with some of the knives Joker discarded earlier, hands throwing them up and down with bored skill. Joker chugged the bottle then, wanting to feel numb, trying to wash away emotions he couldn’t explain. Joker explained to Eddie about the kid as vague as possible. He even hinted if he thought Batman was on their trail to hide Lux. Eddie cracked jokes at him, telling him he was losing his edge, but he was also curious as to why Joker was hiding Lux. Nigma told him that the kid was just something he would grow bored of, and he wasn’t going to stop the bats from taking the kid if he wanted. Eddie had recently got out on early leave from Arkham and wasn’t about to go back, at least not for a kid. Instead Joker gave him lies he could play off of, keeping him out of whatever it was that Joker was doing. What am I even doing, Joker thought.

“I quite like Nigma, he teaches me things.” Lux chose to answer, ignoring whatever crisis Joker was having. “Also I like his hair.”

Joker rose an eyebrow at that comment.

“He took me to the movies, but I was scared the men in the sky would find me again, but they were nowhere to be seen, thank fuck.” Lux groaned. “I’d rather blow my brains then get caught by them again.” Lux visibly shivered at the thought. He wouldn’t escape, not a third time.

That was another group breathing down Joker’s neck. For a second Joker pondered if this is how Batman feels sometimes. It was annoying and Joker would rather not deal with it, but here he stands. Lux decided to take a shower then, tired from the day and wanted to be clean. Lux locked the door behind him, sighing, head bumping lighting against the door. He was on edge, ready to do something, yet…Shaking his head he made himself move, hands burning with a need to move. He wanted to be of help, to be of use, and yet he knew it wasn’t going to happen, not when he was like this. He appreciated what the Joker was trying to do, or assumed was doing, but Lux wanted to not be such a burden. So Lux made a plan. He’d prove to Joker, to all of them, that he could take care of himself. He was going out tomorrow night, and he was going to show them all.

 

 

*    *     *     *     *     *

 

 

Batman was back in his cave, tired beyond belief. He didn’t believe a thing Nigma said, but he had nothing else to go off of. It seems he was watching the kid for a ‘friend’ of his, someone he couldn’t say, and that was all he could give. Nigma told him that the kid was like a sponge, learning fast and hard. Bruce didn’t care much for what little Nigma told him about the kid, not trusting anything other than what foods he was given, and his health. Bruce couldn’t think of a single person outside of Harley that could have been that friend. Joker surely didn’t have the kid, Bruce pondered, or else he’d found Lux in an alleyway long ago. But something wasn’t adding up. Maybe the Joker left Lux with Harley? Bruce wondered, but word said Harley was out of town on another suicide mission. The only comfort Bruce had was of that evening where Lux stood healthy, healing, and smiling. Bruce was glad that the kid was away from the Joker. He couldn’t sleep thinking that the madman had him locked up somewhere like in the reports Bruce had read of Lux. Sighing Bruce pulled himself away from the desk and made himself go upstairs where Damian and Alfred waited for him for dinner. He promised them this time he’d go up, and so as he tore off his batsuit he moved forward, stomach feeling uneasy at unknown questions crawling across his skull.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Art by my boy JACK THANK YOU:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God I don't wanna be too sad, but shit about to get real soon, maybe not next chapter, but soon. Gatta address those feels boi


	12. Laughs and Fears

 

 

Everything was going beautifully. Lux had managed to make his shorts into pants before Joker left him that evening, gaining a nodd of approval before he was left alone with Joker’s men. Johnny was still a bit wary of him, but they sat in comfortable silence as Lux ate his dinner, talking here and there about something Nigma taught him the last time he watched him. Lux told him sorry the other day, eyes watching him limp around the base, cursing up a storm. The man he had killed the other day left behind a red stain by the table he was sitting at. It glared at Lux, digging it’s concrete nails into his back with the knowledge that a lot of the men around here thought Joker was using him in a...not so family friendly sense. If they still thought that way they kept it to themselves, fear of dying, or worse, facing the Joker’s wrath, and Lux would rather it be that way then pissing of Joker again.

“You’ve stuck around longer than I thought you would.” Johnny finally said after Lux was done eating his steak. 

“Yeah,  _ surprising  _ right?” Lux mocked. 

“I still think you’re related to him.” Johnny cracked back, smirking as he stretched in his seat.

“Well-” Lux stopped, glaring. Instead he stood, pushing his plate away with a huff. “I’m not in the mood. I didn’t sleep last night, so I’m ganna go sleep. Don’t bother checking up on me or I’ll shoot whomever wakes me up.”

“Sure kid, whatever you say.” Johnny laughed.

Biting his tongue Lux got up and left, not wanting to ruin his nightly plans this early. Johnny’s constant insistence of them being related was starting to get to Lux. He knew he had to tell Joker, one way or another, and it was killing him on how to go about it. He thought about writing a letter, something sweet and nice with a bear holding it close. He’d hide that day, or week, not even come out for dinner. Then there was his other...father. He wanted to, after meeting him, talk to him. The last time they saw each other wasn’t on good terms and Lux basically played victim to get away from him. He wasn’t sure he’d like him very much after that. 

Closing the door to Joker’s room Lux locked it, making sure to enforce it with a chair before getting ready for his little adventure. It was simple. He was to break into Spoopy Crow’s little hideout, steal some of that gas Joker was talking about the other day, and bring it back. Simple. 

  
  


*     *    *    *    *    *

 

Joker was on his way to Quinn’s from a little fiasco he had with Penguin that evening when his phone rang. He was planning to talk to her about Lux, try to come up with some sort of place for him to live, which made no sense to him, but it’s what he felt. Sighing he saw 5 missed calls. It rang again and he answered, barking out, “What.” 

“He’s gone!” Johnny panicked.

“Who?” Joker rolled his eyes, leaning against the wall of the staircase he was ascending. 

“Lux!”

“ _ WHAT _ ?” Joker yelled, voice echoing throughout the stairwell.

“I had to break down your damn door-” Joker gritted his teeth. “-He wasn’t answering, thought the kid passed out or was dying, but no the little fucker left! Through the window. From the top floor!”

Johnny was panting, fear evident in his voice. “He even left a note.”

Joker was already heading back down the stairs,  **livid** . He was going to find the kid and he was going to really kill him this time. He  _ left  _ him, left him like Joker knew he would, he knew this was going to happ-

“-reads ‘ _ Have some errands to run! Don’t wait up! It’s a surprise, but I’ll give one hint _ -’”

Joker’s mind stopped as well as his steps.  _ The kid is hanging around Nigma too much _ , Joker hissed. “‘- _ what’s orange and spooky? Anyways, toodles! _ ’ Signed MJ.” Johnny finished. “Who the fuck is MJ?!”

“Nothing important. Gatta run, daddy is busy  _ now _ .” Joker growled as he hung up, talking a small detour down an alleyway. 

His mind began to race.  _ Orange and spooky? What the fuck does that even _ \- Joker’s eyes went wide with realization.  _ Fucking CRANE _ . The kid was getting fear toxin. Joker was trying to figure out why as he made his way towards where he knew Crane’s last hideout was. He had mentioned that he wanted some of fear toxin to mix in with his bombs at one point when he was talking to Johnny. Joker didn’t think, no, there’s now way the kid was getting that for him...was he?

 

*     *    *    *    *    *

 

Lux was wrong. So very, very, very, very wrong. He could admit that, even if it was just to himself, but boy oh boy was he so  _ wrong _ . He didn’t think Scarecrow had so many henchman. Well, he should have known, but damn his eager brain, he didn’t  _ listen  _ to it. He managed to tuck a few small vials of fear toxin in his clothes before he was found. He ran out of bullets by the time he was on his way out, only a few feet away from the door but something big and heavy snached him up, and now here he sat tied up, pissed, growling, and forcing himself to listen to some nut talking to him, saying he was going to regret everything, blah, blah, blah. He had the common sense to wear a mask. It was blank, almost like the man from Batman’s cave, but he carved a smiles into it, jagged lines clashing against the rest of the smooth porcelain. No one touched it, which Lux found funny, but didn’t comment. He was in deep shit and none of these men scared him more than the what the Joker was going to him if he managed to get away from here.  _ He’s going to kill me and I’m never going to be able to tell him I’m his son _ , Lux sighed.

It looks like Crane was in office, Lux groaned, and he was coming into the open room Lux was tied in, in full costume. 

“Well, well, well.” Crane drawled, smirk evident in his voice. “What an interesting little specimen you are.”

Lux rolled his eyes, looking at Crane with mock shock. 

“A new robin I presume?”

To that Lux laughed, loudly, body shaking with mirth. His outfit was working.  _ At least something is working tonight _ , Lux thought. 

“Or maybe…” Crane circles him, head tilted to the side. His needle hands skimmed across Lux’s chest to his right shoulder before they dug in. Luz hissed, flinching at the small pain. They didn't go deep, maybe a few centimeters, but just enough to break skin. “You're Joker’s new little pet?” 

Lux huffed out a weak laugh, rotating his shoulder once Crane moved back in front of him. 

“That was very rude of you.” Lux growled. “I don't like it when people are rude.”

“Rude, you say?” Crane snickered. “Says the boy who broke into my home and tried to steal from me.” 

“Stealing is a strong word,” Lux hummed. “More like sampling.” 

“So you justify your actions with something as mundane as sampling?” Crane laughed. “Tell me, what is a child your age doing in this part of town? Trying to make daddy proud?”

Lux didn't take the bait, instead he chose to shrug his shoulders as best as he could. The rope around his hands digging into his skin. 

“What are you, some kind of doc?” Lux huffed. 

“Actually that's exactly what I am.” Crane waved. “And you look like someone who needs a few therapy sessions to clear that case of daddy issues you have running about.”

“Sorry I'm not a fan of doctors, too many have tried to get into places they don't belong.” Lux growled. 

“I see, but maybe I can change that.” Crane crackled. 

  
  


Unbeknownst to them Batman entered through the roof where a glass panel sat below a few metal crates a few rooms away from where Lux sat now. He had gotten a lead about Crane stirring up trouble again, and Batman was in no mood for his toxins this month. Joker’s trail had gone cold again, leaving Batman worn like grounded salt. He made his way in quietly, sliding down the side of the crates and behind a few goons, taking them out while maneuvering about silently. Robin was outside waiting for his chance to stop anyone from escaping. He had already cleared a small area while he waited, setting up bait for men to come and scout, giving him an upper hand in the upcoming abush. Batgirl was on her way, wanting to help while she was in town before she needed to travel for a family vacation her dad had been planning for months. Robin thought it was over kill but Batman appreciated the gesture. Inside Batman was gathering whatever data he could on Crane’s newest toxin. He was looking to see if he was adding anything similar to Joker's laughing gas, hoping for a lead of some kind to his other… issue. He was in the middle of uploading information to a drive when gunshots and screams echoed a few rooms away. Quickly Batman dove into action, pulling out of his data collection to move towards the chaos. He wondered if Batgirl was already there but she made no note of it through their headsets. Ignoring the notion Batman stuck to the shadows as he ran toward the noises. He was a room away when a manic cackling laugh ripped itself through the air, crashing against Bruce’s ears. 

“Joker.” Batman growled, picking up his pace. He pulled himself into the room where the event was playing out, eyes looking to catch that green display of hair. Dead center of the room Joker stood, proud, pissed, and glaring between chokes of forced laughs. He was asking one of the men on the floor that were shot, hissing something Bruce could barely catch. 

“-is he?” Joker hissed. 

“W-w-who?” The goon stuttered. 

“-id?”

“-ound someone -lier. Two rooms that way!” The goon pointed with a shaky finger. “Boss should -e -eing him now.”

“Thanks.” Joker said as he turned, gun shooting the man in the head, not even glancing to see if he hit his mark. To Bruce’s dismay it hit spot on, an explosion of pink mist forcing warning bells to shake through Bruce’s skull. Something was off about the Joker. He'd usually gloat, and if all else see the carnage he left behind but he walked with a purpose. Crane must have done something to piss him off, Bruce thought. 

  
  


A scream was forced out of Lux. 

“You know nothing you little shit!” Crane yelled, digging his needles into Lux’s side. He was seething, unable to control his anger. He'd be mad at himself later for allowing a kid, some  _ child _ , to get to him but he was beyond that. He knew Joker was coming for the kid. He could hear his men’s screams grow closer and closer. He was going to inject the kid once Joker was in the room but instead here he was filling the kids body with fear toxin because he was  _ angry _ . The scream that ripped out of the kid was short lived. He began thrashing and cursing. 

Unhappy with the situation Crane chose to leave his little show early, no longer in the mood to play host. He'd get another chance to mess with the Joker, but now the moment was  _ ruined _ . He stood for a few seconds towering over Lux just to see what could take hold first, the fear or poison. Crane was had grown bored with his last mixture, not liking how Batman seemed to come up with an antidote quicker and quicker each batch. This time he hoped it would throw off a few rounds of antidote, maybe kill a few people along the way. Either way each route lead to a  painful end, whether by fear or poison. From one moment to the next Lux grew deadly still. He stopped breathing, only his fingers twitched against the wooden posts of the chair he was tied to. Poison it is then, Crane snickered as he turned to face the exit. Three steps and he was out the doors and at the same time Joker crashed through the other, panting, eyes wide and feral. Batman was nearly behind him, almost at his heels when Joker took a sharp left through some metal doors half hidden behind rotting wooden boxes. Before he knew it he arrived late to a scene Bruce, never in his lifetime could have guessed he would be seeing. Joker ran straight for what appeared to be a child tied up on a chair, trembling, right in the middle of the room. His face was pulled tight, teeth gritted, and he looked… Bruce couldn't believe it, worried. Worried sick, if by the pasty look on his face was anything to go by. Bruce was frozen at the spot by the door, mind whirling with a white noise. Joker didn't even look his way, didn't even notice Bruce, his focus was strictly on the small child tied up before them. 

Joker stood in front of Lux, blocking Bruce’s view, and tore off the mask. The white piece of plastic flew across the room before catching on the corner of a wooden crate, breaking in half. Joker bent over and grabbed Lux’s chin harshly with shaking hands, stomach dropping in a harsh pull. He held his breath, ready to see the kid’s face in pain, dead, but instead he got a face full of smiling, mirthful eyes. Lux’s pupils were blown wide, and appeared black. He was holding his breath to stop from laughing, luckily Crane didn't take notice before, but now Lux was shaking until he couldn't hold back anymore, he began to laugh. 

“You're high.” Joker sighed, finally dropping Lux’s face to let the boy have his fit. Joker was relieved, to say the least, but he was near tears. He wasn't, he thought he'd lost him, lost Lux. He didn't understand. He was ready to find a dead body, ready to have his questions left unanswered, but now… For the first time in a long time Joker couldn't hold himself back. He sliced through Lux’s bindings, ignoring him as he tried to catch his breath, and pulled him into a hug. 

  
  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> school takes away what i really wanna do, animation and writing, but anyways, if ya'll even still here, hi! sup, how's it hanging? anyone like lux? hate him? tell me these things pls, heheh


	13. Well...now what?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> truth is revealed to at least one parental... guess which one?

 

 

 

Robin had just finished setting up a few traps. They were small and barely noticeable, simple in form, but effective none the less. He wiped a few beads of sweat forming on his upper lip, sighing as he climbed back onto the roof where his advantage lied. Up high, ears straining to hear what Batman was hearing, he could see some of Scarecrow’s men already being captured by a few of the traps behind the building. He was about to dive in and begin to round up the ones getting around the snares when a large number of white vans peeled into view, tires kicking up loose gravel like a blender full of rocks. The logo glared back at him as his eyes widened, recognition kicking in, hand going to press his com, voice whispering low as he himself lowered towards the ground to avoid being seen.

“Um, Batman, we might have a problem.”

 

 

 

 

Lux slowly came back from his little episode, lungs heaving as he gripped the purple vest in front of him like a life line. He could have sworn Scarecrow was still with him, but the smell of gun powder and mint filled his lungs as he pulled back to see Joker’s face set in a deep and ugly frown. Lux, realizing the situation, sweat dropped as he let go of Joker’s vest, a harsh and awkward laugh leaving his lips as he smiled uneasily. Joker was still holding onto Lux, hands tightening on his sides, fists gripping his vest as he narrowed his eyes, making Lux squirm.

“I know this looks _bad_ -” Lux strained.

“ **Oh** , that doesn’t even **_begin_** to cover i _t_.” Joker growled, finally letting go of Lux to take a step back.

Joker’s temper was rising, his chest felt tight, almost like he couldn’t breathe. Growling Joker pushed his palms into his eyes, fighting every instinct to maim, to hurt, to _kill_. Joker knew it wasn’t directed toward Lux, well, not entirely. Lux, against Joker’s will, was presenting to be the only object Joker could lash out at, which, yeah Joker didn’t want to do, surprisingly. 

“Look, I know what I did was stupid-” Lux began. Joker huffed. “But I did it cause I wanted to…I needed to…Look.” Lux chocked, growing frustrated. His hands went to his hair as he pulled, eyes looking at the floor in distress. “I wanted to get you something, since, well…”

Lux sighed, dropping his hands, head tilting to the side in shame. Finally getting the will to look at Lux Joker noticed that the boy was struggling, if not more, than he was. It was a grounding moment, something that made him calm down and squat to Lux’s eye level, hands on his knees, head in his hands.

“Since wha _t_?” Joker sighed.

 

Batman, who was frozen to his spot in the dark corner of the room, felt like he was going into shock. He wanted to slap himself to make sure he was awake. Whatever hell he was in, this was draining Batman faster than a knife pulled from his gut. It made him nauseous, brain hammering theories of Joker playing one long and sick joke on this kid, on _Lux_. It felt worse thinking that Joker was twisting Lux to _depend_ on him instead of what happened to Jason. It was so, so, so much worse and Batman didn’t know what to do. Joker wasn’t even aware he was there, couldn’t know, not yet, and not when his focus had been elsewhere the entire time coming here.

He was spiraling, Bruce knew he was, but some part of him, however small and fragile, was holding onto the thought that maybe Joker wasn’t playing around, that he was, for once, _caring_ for someone other than himself. He knew Joker’s temper, of his infamous rage that made him deadly, unpredictable, unstable. At that moment he watched it come and go so quickly it left Bruce’s brain whiplashed. He almost reacted when he watched Joker’s eyes flash deadly as he looked at Lux, but then Joker kneeled, fucking _kneeled_ in front of Lux with such calm Bruce felt his heart twinge and fluttered harshly against his ribs.

 

“Since…well since you’ve been letting me stay with you. I know you didn’t have ta’, you coulda’ left me outside on that curb when you ditched the bike that day, but you didn’t, haven’t. Not when I messed up, not when I…did things that upset you.” Lux said with a thick voice. He sounded close to tears, Joker realized. He still wasn’t looking at him, eyes closed, head tilted to the side in some weird form of submission. It made Joker feel uneasy, and, to his anger, _guilty_.

“I just wanted to get you something _nice_.” Lux finished in a whisper.

Lux was still waiting for the pen to drop, for the hit, for the yelling, which he knew he _deserved_. Really, he wanted _something_ to happen, anything then what was happening now. Physical reactions were predictable, easy. They can be dealt with, and they could be handled. But this, whatever this silence was that was bearing down on him, this was something he didn’t know what to do with. It made his hands tingle, his body numb, his tongue sluggish. It made his heart ache in a way of loss, of abandonment, like he was waiting for those slick words of _‘disgusting, trash, no one will ever love you’_ to leave Joker’s mouth, and it was slowly eating away his skin.

“Tell me, Lux.” Joker began slowly. “Are you afraid of me?”

Lux’s eyes opened wide as he snapped his head towards Joker. Batman startled in his spot, almost taking a step forward at the words. Joker was looking at Lux, face unreadable, purposely blank as his heart rocketed against his chest. Just then Batman’s coms lit up, causing him to grit his teeth at the contrasting loud bark of Robin’s voice against his ears.

_‘Um, Batman, we might have a problem.’_

Lux hissed, suddenly defiant against Joker as he took a step forward, nearly in Joker’s face, teeth bared in a feral frown as the back doors burst open with G.E.M. agents. Lux, seeing them first, slid his brass knuckles on as fast as Joker stood and turned to face the men. Joker, who assumed it was the Batfam, calmed almost immediately at the sight of the pathetic men. These men he could handle. They were nothing but ants trying to do battle amongst gods. Joker was certain he could protect Lux against these men, what he wasn’t so sure of was if Batman decided to show up and snatch Lux while Joker was distracted.

Batman moved and sent a message to Robin to find a vantage point and wait for his signal. Robin knew Batgirl would spot him the moment she arrived, and from there he could fill her in. Even if he disliked working with Batman’s past…acquaintances, Robin knew that right now they couldn’t just dive in if they wanted to get Lux out of there alive.

“Well, look who we have here.” A man stepped out from the crowd, gun drawn as he pulled down his mouth guard.

“ ** _Jared_**.” Lux hissed, knives snapping out on the sides of the brass knuckles.

Joker would have clapped at Lux’s new-found showmanship, eyes crinkling with cold calculating mirth as he looked back towards the men. He could smell the fear and hesitation in the air, all eyes watching him wearingly as he took a step forward. To anyone else it would have looked like his usually display of nonchalant indifference, but to Bruce, who moved closer to the side where he could easily reach Joker and Lux if needed, knew that it was a protective move to guard and divide attention to him.

“Looks like he told you, didn’t he?” Jared huffed, eyes smiling coldly as he looked towards Lux. “Figures. No wonder he’s been so hard to track.”

Lux paled, flinching, catching everyone’s attention. Joker raised a brow at that, eyes never leaving Jared, but made sure to keep Lux in his peripheral.

“You…no way.” Jared giggled. “No fucking way.”

Joker’s anger festered to the surface like maggots on a corpse, smile stretching even further, bloodlust suffocating the room. Jared was either too dumb, or clueless to notice, eyes more focused on Lux who was looking sick on his feet. Everyone else took an instinctive step back, while a few, the dumber ones, took one forward.

“Now, now, now.” Joker hummed, hands opening wide, getting Jared’s eyes on him once more. “No hellos? That seems kind of rude.” Lux, to Joker’s surprise, took a step back, and away from him. He wasn’t looking at him again, eyes looking around wildly like he was about to bolt.

“You really have no idea, do you?” Jared sneered.

Joker’s smile was all teeth as he took a step in front of Lux, no longer playing as he stood protectively in front of the shaking boy. Lux hadn’t said a word, which was abnormal to say the least, and Joker slid a knife in his hand, causing everyone in the room to tense.

“Wha **t** -ever, hehh, do you **_mean_**?” Joker growled.

“Captain I don’t think this is a good idea-” A G.E.M agent tried to say but Jared shot him a glare, forcing the man silent.

“Since there is no way you’re getting out of this alive,” Jared gloated, making Joker’s eye twitch. “I guess I could tell you this before you die, and before we take Lux back… _home_ with us.”

Joker already saw 13 different ways to gut the man before he could move, but he was biding his time. Curiosity, despite his better judgement, was rearing its ugly head, _again_ , and Joker wanted to know what these men thought was so _interesting_ that he apparently did not know. Batman was, despite the self-hatred he had for holding both Robin and Batgirl back, was doing the same thing Joker was doing. Lux, since Joker stood in front of him, curled into himself, biting his lip hard enough to draw blood.

“You see, one of the sperm donors we ‘collected’, by means of which are irrelevant-” Jared drawled. Joker nearly lost his patience but kept his act up as he clicked his teeth. “-was, well. It was you.”

Silence.

“Pardon?” Joker asked, jumbled. “What do you mean it was **_me_**?”

“It means exactly that. You are part of that bastard. You’re his _father_.” Jared purred. “Sad, really, to know a kid has your DNA. _Disgusting_ , actually.”

Joker well, Joker laughed. He laughed and laughed and laughed until his sides hurt, tears brimming his eyes with mirth, filled with a wild glee. Everyone tensed, everyone except Lux who threw one of his brass knuckles at Jared, successfully hitting him on his arm, knife deep.

“You _fucking_ bastard!” Jared yelled, nearly falling over in pain.

“Me? _ME?!_ I’m the **_bastard_**? You! You ruined **_everything_**.” Lux lunged, but Joker was faster, gripping Lux by the back of his vest, holding him up in the air as he kicked and screamed, teeth and nails aiming for purchase.

“Huh. So it wasn’t a joke.” Joker mused, eyes narrowing at Lux, who went deadly still at his voice. Jared, in the background, was cussing up a storm, which went ignored by Joker, who in turn felt that once correctly aimed anger now snap full force at Lux.

“No, it _wasn’t_.” Lux swallowed. “It was never a _joke_. I-fuck I didn’t want to tell you.”

“And, please tell me, why is _that_?” Joker growled.

Joker could feel pieces of insanity click into place behind his eyes. Gears turning, emotions burning his skin. He knew this was going to happen. He knew he was going to be left, like always. Leaving someone doesn’t always mean physically, like with Harley Quinn. It can come mentally, like with a lot of his victims, like _Batman_. People check out on Joker all the time. They always want to escape, always want to run away from _him_.

It made sense, in the end, that it would come to this, Joker mused. Lux was too good to be true. It was a curious thought as to why he kept that fact a secret. Joker would have used that knowledge against himself, play tricks with his mind, coax himself into a state of false security. The betrayal would taste that much sweeter if Lux had done it that way, but, well, he didn’t. Instead he left it all to chance, something Joker is well aware of, and he gained his trust without a hint of using the ‘family is blood’ card.

“Don’t look at me like that!” Lux barked, crossing him arms as he glared right back. “I didn’t tell you because…because I thought you would leave me okay!”

Joker, to everyone’s surprise, startled. Batman gave the signal to Robin, thinking now was as good a time as ever as he watched Joker’s anger drain from him as quickly as it came.

“…what?” Joker whispered.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it took so long...life is giving me a bad run, but im back, hopefully. I am trying to post more, im already working on the next chapter tbh


	14. Captured Chaos

 

People tell you life is like music. It’s a fragile tune, humming just beneath your skin, lightly tapping to the stretch and pull of your muscles, quaking at the tip of your teeth. Other people, or things, can snap their own beat against your ribs, forcing two tales to intertwine, sometimes creating something beautiful, while other times creating something distasteful. Lux could almost hear a faint hiss of a melody that should not exist, something fast and angry and chaotic. It wrapped around his aching frame, squeezing together his lungs, blood curling tightly behind the back of his eyes.

_Explosions. Too many to count, all sides of men in black and yellow and orange and_ **_green_ ** _but never red, not yet, dance together and against, three enemies, a man, a monster, and two kids sitting on opposite sides of the same rusted coin._

Lux wanted to groan, to open his eyes, to see what he could smell. The anesthetic in the air was nauseating, too clean, too _familiar,_ and Lux wanted to cry, and he couldn’t, for the life of him, remember _why._

_A woman with red hair, like_ **_fire_ ** _and_ **_blood,_ ** _and yet not the same as the man who constantly reminded Lux of riddled tales of a man and a mystery. She had taken down Jared, like quicksilver, deadly in all costs except where it mattered most. Lux knew that man, that man who smelled of sweat and grime and fake amber musk, he was still alive._

Lux was a smart boy, at least, that’s what the men in the mirror used to tell him, used to _praise_ him by. He forced his body to relax, to continue to feign sleep. His fingers twitched beneath a cold blanket, wool not too strong to itch, but not enough to comfort. Led filled the bottom of his stomach as ash and bile slew across his tongue, but he kept still, like a good boy. Like a good, sad, frightened, barely holding onto his finely knit tune of sanity, boy.

_They were running. Together, hand in hand, one laughing, or was it growling? The other unsure of what was going to happen next, yet still smiling. Together they looked mad. They killed and ran and hid and ran some more. It was too clean, too convenient, like a mouse being lead through a maze. Lux was the first to notice, to noticed the trap, the cornering of men and bats and jokes. There was red now, at their feet. It was so beautiful that Lux nearly laughed._  

Slowly he stretched out his hearing. It was quiet. There was a faint humming just behind the door, like a running machine. There was also more to just the smell of _too clean_ but it passed in wisps. Rotting soil, dirt, something wet and old, and metal. Something muffled, like a rise of voices, came close to the door, almost too close. Flashes of nettles, of tubes, of mushed and rotten apple sauce, of crushed sugar treats, fluttered just behind Lux’s eyelids. His chest _ached._

_His eyes were desperate, Lux could tell. He was fighting something primal beneath his skin, hand tightening far too much against Lux’s wrist. He could feel it bruise, a bittersweet sting. Before he could have expected this, from his lies, from his_ **_secrets._ ** _Before he was willing to take a beating or two, a cut, a slash, a_ **_burn,_ ** _but right now this pain, while familiar, was foreign. It wasn’t given by choice. It wasn’t lashed out to hurt, to punish, to wound. It was desperate and it_ **_hurt_ ** _._  

Slowly, like maple sliding against bark, Lux opened his eyes. Just enough to peak, to glimpse, but it was enough. White walls, white room, stiff coat, lumpy pillow. He was _back._ He was back at his ‘ _home’_ and he couldn’t _deal_ with it. He didn’t want to **_deal_ ** with it. He finally snapped his eyes fully open and to his disgust, he began to cry.

_‘You’re not getting away this time Joker.’ Batman growled. It didn’t get past anyone’s notice that Joker didn’t react, at least, not in a way he_ **_used_ ** _to. Lux was frantic. He knew what happens to Joker when he’s caught. He knows of the months he’d be sent away, away from_ **_him._ ** _Without thinking Lux dove, jerking Joker along with him, and they spun into a tightly cramped space, moving. Another explosion went off. The heat ripped the two away from each other, and towards two different directions. To Lux’s greatest relief, and to Joker’s greatest dismay, they went after_ **_him._ **

It flashed across his skin, the ache, the loss. It hurt much worse than the last time he lost something precious, deeper than expected. It left him feeling **_raw._ ** He began to tremble. His voice could no longer stay silent and he bolted up, ignoring the pain, and wailed. It was ripped out of him, out of his lungs, out of his chest. His hands sought purchase, fragile hands gripping his hair hard enough to pull some straight out of their roots. He didn’t notice there was another person in the room with him until it was too late. Slowly he slipped into a fog. Medication he was familiar with, since the men behind the mirror used it whenever he grew...inconvenient, and blissful sleep knocked him off his metaphorical feet and he slumped.

 

“What the bloody hell was that?” Alfred hissed, pushing Lux back against the bed. He was finally breathing normally again, eyes far away, distant, eerie. Using his free hand Alfred forced Lux’s eyes closed and stood back.

“It seems he had a panic attack. Why? I’m not a hundred percent sure…”

“But?”

“This room must have reminded him of G.E.M.”

Heavy silence filled the small room. Three days had passed since the raiding of Scarecrows hideout. Three days of yelling, specters, and secrets. Batgirl was furious that Joker got away. She yelled and screamed and ranted about him creating another Jason Todd. Her words stung, like salt on infected wounds, but nothing he could say would calm her down. She wanted to be here when Lux woke up. To demand details on just what happened, what Joker did, to make him this way. She, along with the others, didn’t understand what the men meant by Joker being his father. He had to explain to them where Lux came from, even show them videos that left most of them pale and shaken. To see a child, someone Damian’s age, tested and poked and prodded like an animal was not something one would wish to witness.

 Damian, to everyone’s surprise, had sat by Lux’s bed nearly all three days, except for now, where he slept in his room above. Not everyone in the family knew of Damian’s past. Of how he was trained to kill, to destroy what made him human, and Bruce worries that Damian is seeing himself, what he could have become, in Lux. It’s not a pretty picture, once you get past their age. Lux was every bit like Joker as Damian was like Bruce. For some reason beyond him Bruce feels as if he failed this boy, Lux, like he failed Jason all those years prior. It made a mess of emotions bubble in his gut, but now was not the time to dwell.

“Maybe moving him to a different room might help?” Alfred said, swatting imaginary dust off his clothes.

“If he’s anything like Joker he’ll use the first opportunity he gets to escape. We can’t afford that happening again.” Bruce sighed. “Next time he wakes up one of us will be there. That way he knows he’s not back… there.”

Alfred’s eyes spoke volumes, enough for Bruce to turn away. Together they exited the room, one locking the door while the other made his way to the monitors. They were lucky to have been down here when Lux began to panic. Who knows how long he would have stayed in that state if they had been elsewhere. It was uncomfortable to think that a place like G.E.M held the boy’s fear so tight.

“I’ll prepare dinner then, sir.”

Nodding Bruce left Alfred to journey back upstairs on his own. Clicking through files Bruce winced at a few of the darker images, body pulled tight. He still had so much left unanswered. The biggest mystery being his time with Joker.

‘ _It’s really true.’_ Bruce sighed. He had runs Lux’s dna across Joker’s profile, and almost immediately the results spat positive against the screen. Alfred was the first to tell Bruce of his concerns. It was almost uncanny how similar, yet different they were to one another. Looking up at the clock an hour had passed since Alfred had left. Shaking his head Bruce stood up and stretched, back popping in a chorus of untimely notes. Batgirl will be back in the morning, not taking no as an answer. She was bullheaded on the best of days, and right now wanted to do all she could to help, even if Batman thought it wasn’t the best idea. They were up against a child with a joker-esque mind, with enough baggage to fill a psychiatrist’s wallet. From what Bruce can analyze, all that Lux is and will be is due to the nature of how he was raised. There was nothing ‘normal’ that the kid could fall back on, nothing that would show right from wrong. He lived in the darkest area of grey and he had only dove deeper the longer he stayed with Joker. The best thing they could all hope for was a sound mind, and maybe a body willing to listen.

 

                .      .     .     .      .

 

The second time he woke up Lux didn’t even bother to move. The smell was still there, as well as the humming behind the door, but something was off about how the silence around him seemed almost pressured, like a body was somewhere nearby.

“Looks like you finally woke up, idiot.” A young voice huffed.

Snapping up Lux gave himself whiplash as his eyes widened and locked onto the boy wonder. He was sitting on a metal chain, some book in his hand as it dangled between three fingers. He looked casual, like it was normal to be sitting beside a body in this cold damp room, and maybe it was normal, Lux thought.

“Wha-“

“He’s awake!” Damian yelled in a tone that sounded bored. Any other day Lux would have wondered how he pulled it off, and if he could teach him to do the same, but soon two other bodies poked into the doorway.

“Finally!” The red head beamed. She had been worried, not that she’d ever tell a soul.

“I don’t-“

“Give him space, batgirl, robin, out.” Batman grunted. Two pairs of eyes looked at him with annoyance, but both were ignored as they filtered out of the room as Batman entered.

“How-“

“You were captured outside Scarecrow’s base. G.E.M ran the moment we came out, and Joker vanished before we could tag him.” Bruce said hesitantly. He wanted to dive into questions, into answers, but right now lying and playing around the topics of interest would lead them nowhere. Batgirl had been against even mentioning Joker, thinking he would snap, but Bruce knew better. He had watched them, since he became aware of them in the base, and could tell they were close. How close was yet to be determined.

“I see.” Lux muttered. Ever so slightly Bruce noticed his shoulders looking less pinched, even if they weren’t relaxed. If that wasn’t a tell Bruce would sell his favorite mask.

“You’ve been out for five days. Injuries mostly superficial, except for a few broken ribs and slight head trauma. You lost a lot of blood. Also the chemicals in your body have finally been filtered out, leaving only small traces that will do nothing to damper your senses.” Bruce stated. “You’re body is slightly faster than normal at healing..”

“Five days huh?” Lux finally relaxed. His eyes dropped to his hands that rested in his laps. A hint of a smirk ghosting across his lips. “Five days of sleep. I bet it was driving you all _crazy_ with my body being there, but no one was home-“ Lux tapped his head. “-to give you answers. Not that I’d give them away freely, of course.”

Batman gave an unimpressed look, causing Lux to glance his way. Lux searches for something in his eyes, and a few minutes passed before he seemed to find whatever it was that he was looking for.

“You know… I never wanted him to find out that way.” Lux looked back at his hands, head bowed in what looked like a painful angle. “I planned to tell him after a year or so. That way he wouldn’t just leave me on the side of the road. He’d had ‘invested’ some time into me, like a heir or something stupid like that. Hahh…”

His fists clenched.

“I know what you want me to say, I _could_ say it you know? Paint this too perfect image of just what you people _think_ the Joker is to me. Of what he _might_ have done to ‘make’ me this way. But unlike the first time we met Bats.” Lux turned and met Batman’s eyes. “I don’t feel like _playing_ a game.”

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey sorry guys!!! I’m trying to keep up and make chapters longer but I have a knack for leaving things in cliff hangers lmfao


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